"This is the place," said Professor Farrago.
His quiet, passionless voice sounded strange to me; his words seemed strange, too, each one heavily weighted with hidden meaning.
We set the cage on the ground; he unlocked and opened the steel-barred door, and, kneeling, carefully arranged the pies along the centre of the cage.
"I have a curious presentiment," he said, "that I shall not come out of this experiment unscathed."
"Don't, for Heaven's sake, say that!" I broke out, my nerves on edge again.
"Why not?" he asked, surprised. "I am not afraid."
"Not afraid to die?" I demanded, exasperated.
"Who spoke of dying?" he inquired, mildly. "What I said was that I do not expect to come out of this affair unscathed."
I did not comprehend his meaning, but I understood the reproof conveyed.
He closed and locked the cage door again and came towards us, balancing the key across the palm of his hand.