"That would be to say his senses had deserted him."
"Kene thinks that the headache of which he had complained may have proceeded from some disordered function of the brain, and induced insanity."
"Do you think it?" asked Mr. Greatorex, looking at his son. "You were the last person who saw him alive."
"I should be glad to think it if I could. He was quite calm and collected when I was with him; just as usual."
"The extraordinary thing to me is, that nobody should have heard the discharge of the pistol."
"The people of the house were all out. Even the servant-girl had gone about the neighbourhood gossiping."
"It might have been heard in the street."
"If the street were quiet, perhaps yes. But on assize nights, they tell me, there is an unusual deal of outdoor bustle."
Mr. Greatorex sat looking at the fire, and revolving the different points of the dreadful history. Bede resumed.
"I was wondering whether the worst of the details could be kept from my mother. They would try her terribly. She only thinks as yet, I find, that he died suddenly."