needles. I wanted to get home, not only for my
own sake; the patient's condition made it highly desirable that the
remedies should be given as quickly as possible. But the minutes dragged
on, and I was on the point of expostulating when a bell rang on the
landing.

"The carriage is ready," said Mrs. Schallibaum. "Let me light you down
the stairs."

She rose, and, taking the candle, preceded me to the head of the stairs,
where she stood holding the light over the baluster-rail as I descended
and crossed the passage to the open side door. The carriage was drawn up
in the covered way as I could see by the faint glimmer of the distant
candle; which also enabled me dimly to discern the coachman standing
close by in the shadow. I looked round, rather expecting to see Mr.
Weiss, but, as he made no appearance, I entered the carriage. The door
was immediately banged to and locked, and I then heard the heavy bolts
of the gates withdrawn and the loud creaking of hinges. The carriage
moved out slowly and stopped; the gates slammed to behind me; I felt the
lurch as the coachman climbed to his seat and we started forward.

My reflections during the return journey were the reverse of agreeable.
I could not rid myself of the conviction that I was being involved in
some very suspicious proceedings. It was possible, of course, that this
feeling was due to the strange secrecy that surrounded my connection
with this case; that, had I made my visit under ordinary conditions, I
might have found in the patient's symptoms nothing to excite suspicion
or alarm. It might be so, but that consideration did not comfort me.

Then, my diagnosis might be wrong. It might be that this was, in
reality, a case of some brain affection accompanied by compression, such
as slow haemorrhage, abscess, tumour or simple congestion. These cases
were very difficult at times. But the appearances in this one did not
consistently agree with the symptoms accompanying any of these
conditions. As to sleeping sickness, it was, perhaps a more hopeful
suggestion, but I could not decide for or against it until I had more
knowledge; and against this view was the weighty fact that the symptoms
did exactly agree with the theory of morphine poisoning.

But even so, there was no conclusive evidence of any criminal act. The
patient might be a confirmed opium-eater, and the symptoms heightened by
deliberate deception. The cunning of these unfortunates is proverbial
and is only