haunts her for a long time, even after she hears that he is "missing, presumed killed" during World War I. The story takes place twenty-five years later, when Kathleen and her family have left London, which is being frequently bombed, for a refuge in the countryside. She has returned to their house to gather a few things but then finds the note, which evokes a feeling of dread. She wonders if her erstwhile fiancé has returned to force her to hold to their past agreement. We understand from her fear that she believes this might be possible.

Kathleen realizes she has to flee and decides to call a taxi, so she can transport the things she has gathered. She is frantic to get to the taxi before the man who wrote the note finds her. She never imagines that the man might impersonate a taxi driver. However, there is a major clue to the ending when on her way out she feels a draft from the basement, as if "a door or window was being opened by someone who chose this moment to leave the house." She walks quickly to the square where the taxi stand is, and she thinks as she enters the taxi that she is finally safe—only to discover that the taxi driver is the man she feared and that he has succeeded in capturing her. She begins to scream and beat on the windows.