patients who were waiting for him at their own houses. He
decided forthwith on taking the only wise course that was open under
the circumstances. In other words, he decided on taking to flight.

'Is the carriage at the door?' he asked.

'Yes, sir.'

'Very well. Open the house-door for me without making any noise, and
leave the lady in undisturbed possession of the consulting-room. When
she gets tired of waiting, you know what to tell her. If she asks when
I am expected to return, say that I dine at my club, and spend the
evening at the theatre. Now then, softly, Thomas! If your shoes
creak, I am a lost man.'

He noiselessly led the way into the hall, followed by the servant on
tip-toe.

Did the lady in the consulting-room suspect him? or did Thomas's shoes
creak, and was her sense of hearing unusually keen? Whatever the
explanation may be, the event that actually happened was beyond all
doubt. Exactly as Doctor Wybrow passed his consulting-room, the door
opened--the lady appeared on the threshold--and laid her hand on his
arm.

'I entreat you, sir, not to go away without letting me speak to you
first.'

The accent was foreign; the tone was low and firm. Her fingers closed
gently, and yet resolutely, on the Doctor's arm.

Neither her language nor her action had the slightest effect in
inclining him to grant her request. The influence that instantly
stopped him, on the way to his carriage, was the silent influence of
her face. The startling contrast between the corpse-like pallor of her
complexion and the overpowering life and light, the glittering metallic
brightness in her large black eyes, held him literally spell-bound. She
was dressed in dark colours, with perfect taste; she was of middle
height, and (apparently) of middle age--say a year or two over thirty.
Her lower features--the nose, mouth, and chin--possessed the fineness
and delicacy of form which is oftener seen among women of foreign races
than among women of English birth. She was unquestionably a handsome
person--with the one serious drawback of her ghastly complexion, and
with the less noticeable defect of a total want of tenderness in the
expression of her eyes. Apart from his first emotion of surprise, the
feeling she produced in the Doctor may be described as an overpowering
feeling of professional curiosity. The case might prove to be
something entirely new in his professional experience. 'It looks like
it,' he thought; 'and it's worth waiti