"I'm tired of playing with you. Now I'm going to kill you and be done with it," he cried, lunging toward the doctor. The two policemen held him, and he turned upon them furiously, trying to strike them with his manacled hands. His face had grown suddenly malignant.
"Let me go. I will kill you all. Let me go. You can't keep me tied up. I will get away in the night,--I can fool you all,--"
Watson nodded to his men and they took Ben from the room, still shouting his curious mechanical curses at them, like a violent talking machine that is running down. When the door closed behind him, every man in the room realized that he had been unconsciously holding his breath. Burton went up to the doctor and put his hand on his shoulder.
"How much did you hear?"
"I heard your story," he said wearily. "I--wanted to speak to Watson. The door was open, and I heard voices, so I came in and saw the light up here. I heard what you said from the hall there."
"I can quite understand that this has been a shock to you," said Burton, "but it completely clears Henry." He suddenly bit his lip as he realized that Henry was more deeply involved than ever before, and hurried on. "It is quite obvious that Ben must be insane. He is dangerous, and would not long have been content with the minor crimes that have amused him so far. The taint must have been long latent. Probably hereditary."
"That reminds me," said Watson quickly. "You were wondering why the Indians wouldn't talk to you. I believe it was old Bussey. I saw him here one evening in that little park opposite the hotel. I haven't seen him for years and years, but I knew him at once. I told my men to look out for him, but he hasn't been seen since. He's a slim old man,--lively as a youngster. Runs like an Indian, with his knees up and his head down."
"Then I believe I have seen him, myself," said Burton. "Twice. Once the first day I was here, talking to Mrs. Bussey back of your house, Doctor, and again up at the Reservation. That explains. He had been hanging around High Ridge long enough to know me by sight, and he guessed that I was of the other party, and so he warned his friends simply to tell me nothing that I wanted to know. I wonder how far he was in with Ben's schemes."
"He hasn't been hanging around High Ridge very much since I've been in office, I'll swear to that," said Watson. "I know old Bussey pretty well, and he knows me. He never would come into a town if he could help it. You never saw him hanging about your house, did you, Doctor?"
"No, I thought he was dead," said Underwood. He spoke absently as though he were keeping his mind on their talk with something of an effort. Now he turned to Watson with the simple directness that had endeared him to Burton from the first.