"Mr. Brown is waiting for you in the dining-room," she said, after the first greetings.
"Ebenezer Brown?" said the doctor, as if to turn back. "What brings him here?"
"Just the same errand as yours," cried a harsh voice from the dining-room. "To mourn over the man you killed."
A dry cackle followed the speech. But no one heeded what Ebenezer Brown said, so notorious was he in the town for a love of money and a bitter tongue. The doctor accepted the speech as a challenge, and entered the room defiantly, while Father Healy followed him.
"You didn't expect to find me here," said the old man, who sat in an armchair, a thin, stooped figure, with a pallid face and white hair.
"We did not," replied the priest.
The doctor murmured something about vultures and the dead.
"Eh?" asked the old man, feigning a convenient deafness, "I might expect you and the priest; the one generally prepares the way for the other."
"I am expecting it will be a difficult meeting," murmured the priest.
Dr. Marsh, however, made no reply to the remark. He was awaiting a convenient time to lunge at his enemy, and he sat down opposite Ebenezer Brown, regarding him critically. After a moment's pause, he asked: