ised me. When I 'ad dressed myself I
went into the kitchen to get a bit o' breakfast, and she was setting in
a chair starin' at nothing. The kettle wasn't boiling, and there wasn't
nothing ready, so I asked 'er quite polite, what she was doing. 'I'm
thinking,' she says, and continues sitting in the chair. After a bit of
reasoning with her, I lost my temper and picked up a leg of a chair,
what we had broke the evening previous when we was 'aving a argument.
She jump up and bolted out of the house, just as she was, with her 'air
in curl-papers, and that's the last I saw of her. I waited an hour and
then took the old cab out of the garage, and I was going to look for my
breakfast when I met you two gents." He took his pipe out of his mouth
and wiped his lips. "Now I put it all down to this 'ere Blue Disease.
It's sent my missus off 'er head."

"There's no reason why you should think your wife mad simply because she
ran away when you tried to strike her," I said. "It's surely a proof of
her sanity."

He shook his head.

"That ain't correct," he said, with conviction. "She always liked a
scrap. She's a powerful young woman, and her language is extraordinary
fine when she's roused, and she knows it. I can't understand it."

He looked up suddenly.

"So it was you two who made this disease was it?"

"Yes."

"Fancy that!" he said. "Fancy a couple of doctors inventing a disease.
It does sound a shame, don't it?"

"Wait till you get it," said Sarakoff.

"It seems to me you've been and done something nasty," he went on.
"Ain't there enough diseases without you two going and makin' a new
one? It's a fair sickener to think of all the diseases there
are--measles and softenin' of the brain, and 'eaving stummicks and what
not. What made you do it? That's what I want to know." He was getting
angry. He pointed the stem of his pipe at us accusingly. His small eyes
shone. "It's fair sickening," he muttered. "I've never took to doctors,
nor parsons--never in my life."

He spat expressively.

"And my wife, too, clean barmy," he continued. "Who 'ave I got to thank
for that? You two gents. Doctors, you call yourselves. I arsk you, what
is doctors? They never does me any good. I never seed anyone they'd done
any good. And yet they keeps on and no one says nothing. It's fair
sickening."

There was a sound of footsteps behind me. I turned and saw a policeman
climbing slowly up the bank towards the road. Like all policemen he
appea