Herman was spending the night with some friends who lived in the country. He went to bed late and did not sleep well. Off in the distance he thought he heard the sound of a horse drawn carriage. He got up, went to the window, and looked out. There, in the full moon, he saw the carriage he had heard right outside of the house. The carriage looked like it was carrying a coffin. The driver of the carriage looked up at the window where Herman stood. The driver's face was ghostly pale and very thin. "All aboard", the driver said to Herman. Herman stepped back from the window and laid back down on the bed. He eventually fell back into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, he told his friends about the carriage and driver and they all decided that he just must have had a very bad dream. Later that day, Herman went back home to his apartment in the city. Just as he started to board the elevator , he looked at the elevator operator. He saw the same pale, thin face that had belonged to the carriage driver. The elevator operator looked at Herman and said "All aboard". Herman stepped back from the elevator and stood as if in a trance until a few moments later he was startled by a loud crash. The elevator cable had broken and the elevator had plummeted down, killing everyone on board. Later investigation discovered that the elevator operator had been a temporary employee and hired only for that one day.