There was a table with a lamp on it in the middle of the room, and sitting at that table, facing towards me, was Whittington right enough.
Whittington was nowhere to be found in the room.  
mnli hypothesis: Whittington was nowhere to be found in the room.   premise: There was a table with a lamp on it in the middle of the room, and sitting at that table, facing towards me, was Whittington right enough.