gh he did not know it, Lucian was suffering from a sharp attack of
detective fever, and the only means of curing such a disease is to learn
the secret which haunts the imagination. Rhoda, as she stated--rather
ambiguously, it must be confessed--could reveal this especial secret
touching the murder of Vrain; but, for some hidden reason, chose to
delay her confession for twenty-four hours. Lucian, all on fire with
curiosity, found himself unable to bear this suspense, so to distract
his mind and learn, if possible, the true relationship existing between
Ferruci and Jorce, he set out for Hampstead to interview the doctor.

"The Haven," as Jorce, with some humour, termed his private asylum, was
a red brick house, large, handsome, and commodious, built in a wooded
and secluded part of Hampstead. It was surrounded by a high brick wall,
over which the trees of its park could be seen, and possessed a pair of
elaborate iron gates, opening on to a quiet country lane. Externally, it
looked merely the estate of a gentleman.

The grounds were large, and well laid out in flower gardens and
orchards; and as it was Dr. Jorce's system to allow his least crazy
patients as much liberty as possible, they roamed at will round the
grounds, giving the place a cheerful and populated look. The more
violent inmates were, of course, secluded; but these were well and
kindly treated by the doctor. Indeed, Jorce was a very humane man, and
had a theory that more cures of the unhappy beings under his charge
could be effected by kindness than by severity.

His asylum was more like a private hotel with paying guests than an
establishment for the retention of the insane, and even to an outside
observer the eccentricities of the doctor's family--as he loved to call
them--were not more marked than many of the oddities possessed by people
at large. Indeed, Jorce was in the habit of saying that "There were more
mad people in the world than were kept under lock and key," and in this
he was doubtless right. However, the kindly and judicious little man was
like a father to those under his charge, and very popular with them all.
Anything more unlike the popular conception of an asylum than the
establishment at Hampstead can scarcely be imagined.

When Lucian arrived at "The Haven," he found that Jorce had long since
returned from his holiday, and was that day at home; so on sending in
his card he was at once admitted into the presence of the local
potentate.