alarm, "if he han't bin an'
drunk up all the tinctur' o' rhubarb! An' the laudanum-bottle standin'
close beside it too! _What_ a mercy he didn't drink that! Well, lucky
for him there wasn't much in it, for an overdose of anything in his
state would be serious."

Full of her discovery, Mrs Craw set the candle on the table, and sat
down on the chair by the bedside to think about it; but the more she
thought about it the more puzzled she was.

"Took it himself," she said, reverting to Gorman's words. "Impossible!"

She continued to shake her head and mutter "Impossible" for some time,
while she stared at the candle as if she expected that _it_ would solve
the mystery. Then she got up and examined the bedclothes, and found
that a good deal of the rhubarb had been spilt on the sheets, and that a
good deal more of it had been spilt on Boone's chin and chest; after
which her aspect changed considerably, as, setting down the candle, she
resumed her seat and said--

"Took it himself! Impossible!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness! If ever a man sought darkness in vain, and found light,
bright blazing light, everywhere, it was Gorman. At first, in a burst
of frenzy, he rushed away at full speed. It was well for him that the
wind had increased to a hurricane and the rain was blinding, else had he
been stopped on suspicion, so fierce was his mien, so haggard his look,
so wild his race. Gradually his pace slackened, and gradually as well
as naturally he gravitated to his old familiar haunts; but go where he
would, there was light everywhere except within his own breast. It was
all darkness there.

It is true the sky was dark enough, for the war of elements was so great
that it seemed to have been blotted out with ink, but the shops appeared
to have been lit up more brilliantly than usual. Every lamp poured a
flood of light around it. The lanterns of the cabs and omnibuses sent
rich beams of light through the air, and the air itself, laden as it was
with moisture, absorbed a portion of light, and invested everything with
a halo. Light, light! all round, and the light of conscience within
rendering the darkness there visible, and shining on the letters of a
word written in dark red--"Murderer!"

Gorman tried to extinguish the light, but it was a fire that would not
be put out. He cursed the shop-windows and the lamps for shining so
brightly on him; he cursed th