"He was certainly the biggest I ever came across," replied Forrest, "and my only regret is that I was unable to secure him in order that he might have judicially paid the penalty for his crimes."
"It was a pity," I said, "though I fancy if we had trapped him he would have found some means of cheating the gallows and making a melodramatic exit from the world."
"It is more than likely," said Forrest. "He was not the ordinary type of criminal. I was speaking to a big mental specialist the other day, and—but I had better complete the story of his career first. Where did we leave him?"
"New Guinea," I prompted.
"The only other reason I have for suspecting him of being engaged in deeds of violence in that quarter of the globe is that he returned to England via Singapore, with a considerable quantity of bullion in his possession. The rest of his history you know."
"He seems to have had a stirring existence, anyhow," I commented. "And one hardly sees any reason for it save natural sin."
"The alienist I was talking to the other day described him as a moral pervert. He said he was a type of insanity usually associated with physical incapacity or a low order of intelligence, but when, as in Mannering's case, both physique and intelligence were above the average, the moral pervert is a greater danger to the community than an army of ordinary criminals. If ever I said a prayer it would be when a madman of that type was removed from the world."
"Amen," said both Evie and I, heartily.