floor,
dead. His blue eyes were staring wide, and they seemed larger than they
had ever been. They kept still the expression of terror which they had
worn in the moment of his agony, and his heavy face was distorted with
deadly fear. It was purple and dark, and the eyes were injected with
blood.

'He died of suffocation,' whispered Dr Porhoet.

Arthur pointed to the neck. There could be seen on it distinctly the
marks of the avenging fingers that had strangled the life out of him. It
was impossible to hesitate.

'I told you that I had killed him,' said Arthur.

Then he remembered something more. He took hold of the right arm. He was
convinced that it had been broken during that desperate struggle in the
darkness. He felt it carefully and listened. He heard plainly the two
parts of the bone rub against one another. The dead man's arm was broken
just in the place where he had broken it. Arthur stood up. He took one
last look at his enemy. That vast mass of flesh lay heaped up on the
floor in horrible disorder.

'Now that you have seen, will you come away?' said Susie, interrupting
him.

The words seemed to bring him suddenly to himself.

'Yes, we must go quickly.'

They turned away and with hurried steps walked through those bright
attics till they came to the stairs.

'Now go down and wait for me at the door,' said Arthur. 'I will follow
you immediately.'

'What are you going to do?' asked Susie.

'Never mind. Do as I tell you. I have not finished here yet.'

They went down the great oak staircase and waited in the hall. They
wondered what Arthur was about. Presently he came running down.

'Be quick!' he cried. 'We have no time to lose.'

'What have you done, Arthur?'

There's no time to tell you now.'

He hurried them out and slammed the door behind him. He took Susie's
hand.

'Now we must run. Come.'

She did not know what his haste signified, but her heart beat furiously.
He dragged her along. Dr Porhoet hurried on behind them. Arthur plunged
into the wood. He would not leave them time to breathe.

'You must be quick,' he said.

At last they came to the opening in the fence, and he helped them to get
through. Then he carefully replaced the wooden paling and, taking Susie's
arm began to walk rapidly towards their inn.

'I'm frightfully tired,' she said. 'I simply can't go so fast.'

'You must. Presently you can rest as long as you like.'

They walked very quickly for a while. Now and the