n't afford to stay
in Paris only for my pleasure. Do you remember calling me a 'mute,
inglorious Liston,' long ago, when we last met? Well, I have come to
England to soar out of my obscurity and blaze into a shining light of
the profession. Plenty of practice at the hospital, here--very little
anywhere else, I am sorry to say."

"You don't mean that you belong to _this_ hospital?"

"My dear fellow, I am regularly on the staff; I'm here every day of my
life."

"You're the very man to enlighten us. Here, Basil, cross over, and
let me introduce you to an old Paris friend of mine. Mr. Bernard--my
brother. You've often heard me talk, Basil, of a younger son of old Sir
William Bernard's, who preferred a cure of bodies to a cure of souls;
and actually insisted on working in a hospital when he might have
idled in a family living. This is the man--the best of doctors and good
fellows."

"Are you bringing your brother to the hospital to follow my mad
example?" asked Mr. Bernard, as he shook hands with me.

"Not exactly, Jack! But we really have an object in coming here. Can you
give us ten minutes' talk, somewhere in private? We want to know about
one of your patients."

He led us into an empty room, on the ground-floor of the building.
"Leave the matter in my hands," whispered Ralph to me, as we sat down.
"I'll find out everything."

"Now, Bernard," he said, "you have a man here, who calls himself Mr.
Turner?"

"Are _you_ a friend of that mysterious patient? Wonderful! The students
call him 'The Great Mystery of London;' and I begin to think the
students are right. Do you want to see him? When he has not got his
green shade on, he's rather a startling sight, I can tell you, for
unprofessional eyes."

"No, no--at least, not at present; my brother here, not at all. The fact
is, certain circumstances have happened which oblige us to look after
this man; and which I am sure you won't inquire into, when I tell you
that it is our interest to keep them secret."

"Certainly not!"

"Then, without any more words about it, our object here, to-day, is to
find out everything we can about Mr. Turner, and the people who have
been to see him. Did a woman come, the day before yesterday?"

"Yes; and behaved rather oddly, I believe. I was not here when she came,
but was told she asked for Turner, in a very agitated manner. She was
directed to the Victoria Ward, where he is; and when she got there,
looked excessively flurried and e