A signalman works on a lonely railway cutting. One day he meets the narrator and confesses that he is worried because three times he has seen a ghost appear near the railway tunnel. On the first two occasions, the ghost’s appearance was followed by an accident. So what will happen after this third appearance? This short story mixes suspense with the supernatural and asks whether fate can be changed or whether some warnings come too late.
“By this time you will fully understand, sir, he said, ‘that what troubles me so dreadfully is the question, What does the spectre mean?”