"Cecily awaits me up there!"
"You shall not go—I will prevent you!" said Polidori, seizing the notary by the arm.
Jacques Ferrand having reached the extremity of exhaustion, was unable to contend with Polidori, who grasped him with a powerful clutch. "What, would you prevent me from seeking Cecily?"
"Yes; and besides, there is a lamp in the next room, and you know what an effect light so recently produced on your sight!"
"Cecily is up above; she is waiting for me, and I would cross a red-hot furnace to rejoin her. Let me go! She called me her old tiger; mind you, then, for my claws are sharp!"
"You shall not go! I will sooner tie you down to your bed like a furious madman!"
"Listen, Polidori! I am not mad—I am perfectly in my senses. I know that Cecily is not really up there; but to me the phantoms of my imagination are equal to realities."
"Silence!" cried Polidori, suddenly, and listening. "I just now thought I heard a carriage stop at the door—and I was not mistaken! Now I hear a sound of voices in the courtyard."
"You want to deceive me," said Jacques; "but I am not so easily deceived."
"But, unhappy man, listen—listen! Don't you hear?"