The old lord was naturally
filled with wonder and anxiety when he saw his apparently lifeless
daughter. He was amazed that she should have been overcome by such
influence as, he understood, the old gentleman must wield. She had
always, he said, enjoyed the finest health, and was as little inclined
to hysteria as woman well could be. Lefevre told the father that this
was something other than hystero-hypnotism, which, while it reassured
him as to his daughter's former health, made him the more anxious
regarding her present condition.
"It is very extraordinary," said the old lord; "but whatever it is,--and
you say it is like the young man's case that we have all read
about,--whatever it is,"--and he laid his hand emphatically on the
doctor's arm,--"she could not be in more capable hands than yours."
That assurance, though soothing to the doctor's self-esteem, added
gravely to his sense of responsibility.
While they were yet speaking, Lefevre was further troubled by the
announcement that a detective-inspector desired to speak with him!
Should he tell the inspector all that he had seen the night before, and
all that he suspected now, or should he hold his peace? His duty as a
citizen, as a doctor, and as, in a sense, the protector of his patient,
seemed to demand the one course, while his consideration for Julius and
for his own family suggested the other.
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