t is."

He opened the letter, and marking a certain passage in it with a pencil,
handed it to me.

"Read the lines which I have marked," he said; "they will be quite
sufficient for our purpose."

I read these words:

"Summing up the results of my observation, I may give it as my opinion
that there is undoubtedly latent insanity in this case, but that no
active symptoms of madness have presented themselves as yet. You may,
I think, produce him at the Trial, without fear of consequences. He
may say and do all sorts of odd things; but he has his mind under the
control of his will, and you may trust his self-esteem to exhibit him in
the character of a substantially intelligent witness.

"As to the future, I am, of course, not able to speak positively. I can
only state my views.

"That he will end in madness (if he live), I entertain little or no
doubt. The question of _when_ the madness will show itself depends
entirely on the state of his health. His nervous system is highly
sensitive, and there are signs that his way of life has already damaged
it. If he conquer the bad habits to which I have alluded in an earlier
part of my report, and if he pass many hours of every day quietly in the
open air, he may last as a sane man for years to come. If he persist in
his present way of life--or, in other words, if further mischief
occur to that sensitive nervous system--his lapse into insanity must
infallibly take place when the mischief has reached its culminating
point. Without warning to himself or to others, the whole mental
structure will give way; and, at a moment's notice, while he is acting
as quietly or speaking as intelligently as at his best time, the man
will drop (if I may use the expression) into madness or idiocy. In
either case, when the catastrophe has happened, it is only due to his
friends to add that they can (as I believe) entertain no hope of his
cure. The balance once lost, will be lost for life."

There it ended. Mr. Playmore put the letter back in his drawer.

"You have just read the opinion of one of our highest living
authorities," he said. "Does Dexter strike you as a likely man to give
his nervous system a chance of recovery? Do you see no obstacles and no
perils in your way?"

My silence answered him.

"Suppose you go back to Dexter," he proceeded. "And suppose that the
doctor's opinion exaggerates the peril in his case. What are you to do?
The last time you saw him, you had the immense adv