A STRANGE NIGHT
'I say, Luscombe, you're a nice fellow to drag one out in the middle of the night in this way!'
Colonel McClure had just entered the room where I had been shown.
'I wouldn't have done it without reason,' I said. 'I have travelled fifty miles to-night to get to you, and I want you to come with me to Sir Thomas Bolivick's at once.'
'Sir Thomas Bolivick? I don't know him. Why should I come with you?'
'At any rate, hear what I have to say, and then judge for yourself.'
He listened attentively, while I told him my story. At first he seemed to think lightly of it, and appeared to regard my visit to him as the act of a madman; but when I related my conversation with Dr. Merril, I saw that his face changed colour, and his eyes contracted.
'Tell me the symptoms again,' he said abruptly.
I described to him as minutely as I was able everything concerning my friend, and then, without asking another question, he unlocked a cabinet, took out a number of things which were meaningless to me, and put them in a bag.
'Go and get your car started again,' he said, 'and wait for me.'