"There, I told you so," whispered Francis.
"Have the goodness to untie my hands, doctor. I can explain better when I am free."
"I will unbind you, my friend, but you must promise to give no trouble."
"Can it be, doctor, that you really take me for an insane person?"
"No, my friend, but you are ill, and we will take care of you, and, I hope, cure you. See, your hands are free; don't abuse your liberty."
"What the devil do you imagine I'll do? I came here merely to bring my nephew."
"Very well, we will talk about that matter by and by. I found you sound asleep. Do you often fall asleep in the daytime?"
"Never! It was that stupid book that—"
"Oh, oh! This is a serious case," muttered the author of the book referred to. "So you really believe that your nephew is insane?"
"Dangerously so, doctor. The fact that I was obliged to bind his hands with this very rope is proof of that."