. "I never saw a braver thing more
successfully accomplished."

"There is small courage in acting under necessity," said the professor,
walking slowly across the room towards the fire. "If I had not rescued
my patient, I should have been much more injured than if I had broken my
neck in the attempt. I was responsible for her. What would have become
of the 'great neurologist,' the celebrated 'mad-doctor,' as they call
me, if one of the few patients to whom I ever devoted my whole personal
attention had committed suicide under my very eyes? You can understand
that there was something more than her life and mine at stake."

"I never knew exactly how it happened," I replied. "I was looking out of
my window, when I saw a woman fall over the balcony below me. Her
clothes caught in the crooked branches of a wild cherry tree that grew
some ten feet below; and as she struggled, I saw you leaning over the
parapet, as if you meant to scramble down the face of the cliff after
her. I had a hundred feet of manilla rope which I was taking with me to
Switzerland for a special expedition, and I let it down to you. The
people of the inn came to my assistance, and we managed to haul you up
together, thanks to your knowing how to tie the rope around you both.
Then I saw you down-stairs for a few minutes and you told me the lady
was not hurt. I left almost immediately. I never knew what led to the
accident."

Professor Cutter passed his heavy hand slowly over his thick gray hair,
and looked pensively into the fire.

"It was simple enough," he said at last. "I was paying our bill to the
landlord, and in doing so I turned my back upon Madame Patoff for a
moment. She was standing on a low balcony outside the window, and she
must have thrown herself over. Luckily she was dressed in a gown of
strong Scotch stuff, which did not tear when it caught in the tree. It
was the most extraordinary escape I ever saw."

"I should think so, indeed. But why did she want to kill herself? Was
she insane?"

"Are people always insane who try to kill themselves?" asked the
professor, eying me keenly through his glasses.

"Very generally they are. I suppose that she was."

"That is precisely the question," said the scientist. "Insanity is an
expression that covers a multitude of sins of all kinds, but explains
none of them, nor is itself explained. If I could tell you what insanity
is, I could tell you whether Madame Patoff was insane or not. I can say
t