and sensed the terror in his eyes
Horrified she stared into the cruel face that leered down at her, and felt the grip tighten. And then as she looked into the face she saw a sudden grimace, and sensed the terror in his eyes. The hand relaxed; he bubbled something thickly and fell sideways against the bed. And now she saw. A man had come through the doorway, a tall man, with a fair beard and eyes that danced with insane joy.
He came slowly toward her, wiping on his cuff the long-handled knife that had sent her assailant to the floor.
He was mad. She knew it instinctively, and remembered in a hazy, confused way, a paragraph she had read about an escaped lunatic. She tried to dash past him to the open door, but he caught her in the crook of his left arm, and pressed her to him, towering head and shoulders over her.
“You have no right to sit on a court martial, madam,” he said with uncanny politeness, and at that moment the light in the room was switched on and Jaggs appeared in the doorway, his bearded lips parted in an ugly grin, a long-barrelled pistol in his left hand.
“Drop your knife,” he said, “or I’ll drop you.”
The mad doctor turned his head slowly and frowned at the intruder.
“Good morning, General,” he said calmly. “You came in time,” and he threw the knife on to the ground. “We will try her according to regulations!”
Chapter 15
A TRAGIC AFFAIR IN THE WEST END.
MAD DOCTOR WOUNDS A BURGLAR IN A SOCIETY WOMAN’S BEDROOM.
“There was an extraordinary and tragic sequel to the escape of Dr. Thun from Norwood Asylum, particulars of which appeared in our early edition of yesterday.
Processing your request, Please wait....
