“There’s another matter, doctor,” he continued. “One of the coast fishermen has a story that when Robert Turold was out on the moors he used to hasten home with great strides, like a man who feared pursuit. Did you ever observe this peculiarity in him?”
“I have observed that he used to walk at a quick pace.”
“This was more than a quick pace—it was almost a run, according to the fisherman—looking backward over his shoulder as he went.”
“I did not notice that, but I should not be surprised if it were true, with a man of Robert Turold’s temperament.”
“He feared pursuit—some unknown danger, then?”
“I cannot say. He may have suffered from agoraphobia.”
“What is that?” asked Barrant.
“The dread of open spaces.”
“I have heard of claustrophobia—the dread of closed spaces—but not of this.”
“It is common enough—an absurd but insurmountable aversion to open spaces. The victims are oppressed by a terrible anxiety when crossing a field. I have known a man who would be terrified at the idea of crossing Trafalgar Square.”