A shriek escaped the old man. Like a maniac he tore himself free from their clutches.
“Help! Murder!” he yelled.
“Come back, old Lobster!” they implored.
But he scrambled to his feet and fled from the room, yelling for assistance at every step, and pursued by a burst of laughter from the dancing girls.
The professor rushed from the room and into the arms of John Coddington and Colonel Stringer. They grasped him and held fast.
“Let go!” he shouted. “Don’t let those creatures catch me! Let go!”
“Well, by Jove!” drawled Coddington. “The man is crazy, don’t you know!”
“What’s the matter with yo’, professah?” asked the colonel, in apparent amazement. “Have yo’ lost your senses, suh?”
“How dare you insult the favorites of the harem by running away from them in such a manner?” sternly demanded the Englishman.
“Insult them!” snarled Zenas, glaring at Coddington as if he longed to throttle the man. “How dare you insult me by putting such hideous hags onto me?”