Noble was standing at the time near the
large tent looking at the games, and Nanny Stocks was not far from him
choking the baby with alternate sweetmeats and kisses, to the horror of
Joseph Tipps, who fully expected to witness a case of croup or some such
infantine disease in a few minutes, when suddenly a tall man with torn
clothes, dishevelled hair and bloodshot eyes, sprang forward and
confronted Dr Noble.

"Ha!" he exclaimed with a wild laugh, "have I found you at last, mine
enemy?"

Dr Noble looked at him with much surprise, but did not reply. He
appeared to be paralysed.

"I have sought you," continued the man, trembling with ill-suppressed
passion, "over land and sea, and now I've found you. You've got the
casket--you know you have; you took it from my wife the night she died;
you shall give it up now, or you die!"

He spluttered rather than spoke the last words between his teeth, as he
made a spring at the doctor.

Edwin Gurwood had seen the man approach, and at once to his amazement
recognising the features of Thomson, his old opponent in the train, he
ran towards him, but was not near enough to prevent his first wild
attack. Fortunately for Dr Noble this was thwarted by no less a
personage than Joseph Tipps, who, seeing what was intended, sprang
promptly forward, and, seizing the man by the legs adroitly threw him
down. With a yell that sent a chill of horror to all the young hearts
round, the madman, for such he plainly was, leaped up, but before he
could renew his attack he was in the powerful grasp of his old enemy,
Edwin Gurwood. A terrific struggle ensued, for both men, as we have
said before, were unusually powerful; but on this occasion madness more
than counterbalanced Edwin's superior strength. For some time they
wrestled so fiercely that none of the other gentlemen could interfere
with effect. They dashed down the large tent and went crashing through
the _debris_ of the feast until at length Thomson made a sudden twist
freed himself from Edwin's grasp, leaving a shred of his coat in his
hands, and, flying across the field, leaped at a single bound the wall
that encompassed it. He was closely followed by Edwin and by a
constable of the district, who happened to arrive upon the scene, but
the fugitive left them far behind, and was soon out of sight.

This incident put an end to the evening's enjoyment but as the greater
part of it had already passed delightfully before Thomson came on th