Framton Nuttel is a rather nervous young man. In fact, his nerves are so frayed that he's been ordered by his doctors to stay in the country for a rest cure. As well as being nervous, Framton's rather shy. His sister doesn't want him to stay cooped up indoors, so she gives him letters of introduction to some families in the area.
One of those families is the Sappletons. Framton goes to pay them a visit, hoping to meet Mrs. Sappleton, the lady of the house. Instead, he's introduced to her teenage niece, Vera. After an exchange of glib pleasantries and a brief, embarrassing silence, Vera begins to tell Framton a story. She explains to him why the French window is wide open even though it's October. One day, Mrs. Sappleton's husband and two young brothers went on a hunting trip. They never came back. While out on the moor, they became trapped in a bog and couldn't escape. Their bodies were never recovered.
Vera proceeds to tell Framton that her aunt, Mrs. Sappleton, still expects the three men and the spaniel that was lost with them, to walk through the open French window at any moment. Just then, Mrs. Sappleton arrives, and engages Framton in conversation. After a short while, Mrs. Sappleton breaks off from their rather dull chat. Looking towards the window she says:
"Here they are at last! . . . "Just in time for tea, and don't they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!"
Vera stares at the open window, a look of terror contorting her face. Framton turns round and follows suit. Sure enough, there are three men and a spaniel approaching the window. Framton is absolutely terrified. He grabs his hat and coat and takes off at once.
Mrs. Sappleton wonders why he took off so suddenly. Vera spins another yarn, calmly telling her aunt that Framton has a fear of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery by a pack of dogs in India, and had to escape from them by spending the night in a freshly dug grave with the vicious, slavering hounds snarling at him.
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