"Has she treated you badly?"
"No—if it were only that, I wouldn't care. It's something more dangerous. She's crafty and secret. It's sinister. It makes my flesh crawl!"
"Do you know how long the doctor will stay?"
"He's going back this afternoon, I think. That's why he's working so hard with her, I suppose. She's like a bird with a serpent—she's fascinated by him."
"What did he say to her—did you hear?"
"He has been hypnotizing her. I heard him say, 'You will be Edna, Edna, Edna!'—he repeated it over and over."
"You must go back to the house, then, immediately. You mustn't be missed on any account. Do your best to placate her and avoid trouble. I'll watch in the old cabin till he goes past. As soon as he's out of the way, I'll come."
She was off on the instant through the wood toward the back of the house. I walked down the lane and along the highroad a little way, to the deserted cabin. Here I took my post behind a window and waited patiently.
A couple of hours went by. It was an eternity to me. A hundred times I decided to go and break down the door of the house and have it out with the doctor. I had a couple of revolvers in my bag and the temptation to shoot him on sight was strong. When I thought of what was probably going on in the house—of Joy's body, perhaps, at his mercy—it was all I could do to remember that my intervention at this moment would ruin all hopes of her eventual release from his power. I bore it for her sake, with my teeth gritted, thinking mad thoughts.
At last I heard the rattle of wheels and saw the carriage approach. Uncle Jerdon was driving; the doctor, smoking a cigar, was laughing complacently. I shrank out of sight till they had passed. Then I left the cottage and ran up the lane.