"I was afraid of this," said Mountjoy. "How insensibly a man can be a brute. Poor child, she has fainted; the strain—" He paused suddenly, catching a peculiar look from the Captain.
The latter shook his head.
"Telephone for her brother," said he to the motionless mother, his manner free from any quality that might alarm; "send for Doctor Bane. Don't be frightened," he added, hastily, noting the startled attitudes of the other two; "it is simply a matter of not assuming any unnecessary responsibility. What this poor child has experienced deserves the best medical care at command."
As he had some knowledge of all things under the sun, he was also something of a physician, and knew that this coma was more than a simple lapsing into unconsciousness.
In silence the detective and the lawyer descended the stairs, and that silence was not broken until they arrived at the sidewalk.
"What do you think?" asked Mountjoy.
"Brain fever," was the laconic reply.
BOOK III.
SLADE'S BLESSING
The evil spirit of a bitter love
And a revengeful heart.
—CLAUDE MELNOTTE'S APOLOGY.