. I had not gone far before I perceived the very man
himself. He was walking rapidly along the hillside, beating the furze
bushes with a cudgel and bellowing like a madman. Indeed, at the sight
of him, the doubts as to his sanity which had arisen in my mind were
strengthened and confirmed.

As he approached I noticed that his left arm was suspended in a sling. On
perceiving me he stood irresolute, as though uncertain whether to come
over to me or not. I had no desire for an interview with him, however,
so I hurried past him, on which he continued on his way, still shouting
and striking about with his club. When he had disappeared over the
fells, I made my way down to his cottage, determined to find some clue to
what had occurred. I was surprised, on reaching it, to find the iron-
plated door flung wide open. The ground immediately outside it was
marked with the signs of a struggle. The chemical apparatus within and
the furniture were all dashed about and shattered. Most suggestive of
all, the sinister wooden cage was stained with blood-marks, and its
unfortunate occupant had disappeared. My heart was heavy for the little
man, for I was assured I should never see him in this world more.

There was nothing in the cabin to throw any light upon the identity of my
neighbours. The room was stuffed with chemical instruments. In one
corner a small bookcase contained a choice selection of works of science.
In another was a pile of geological specimens collected from the
limestone.

I caught no glimpse of the surgeon upon my homeward journey; but when I
reached my cottage I was astonished and indignant to find that somebody
had entered it in my absence. Boxes had been pulled out from under the
bed, the curtains disarranged, the chairs drawn out from the wall. Even
my study had not been safe from this rough intruder, for the prints of a
heavy boot were plainly visible on the ebony-black carpet.

IV--OF THE MAN WHO CAME IN THE NIGHT

The night set in gusty and tempestuous, and the moon was all girt with
ragged clouds. The wind blew in melancholy gusts, sobbing and sighing
over the moor, and setting all the gorse bushes agroaning. From time to
time a little sputter of rain pattered up against the window-pane. I sat
until near midnight, glancing over the fragment on immortality by
Iamblichus, the Alexandrian platonist, of whom the Emperor Julian said
that he was posterior to Plato in time but not in genius