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 hands, you’ll soon regain your calmness of mind. You need never see him again. If you’re afraid, you shall be hidden from him, and lawyers shall arrange everything between you.”

“I daren’t.”

“But I promise you that you can come to no harm. Be reasonable. We’re in London now, surrounded by people on every side. How do you think he can touch you while we drive through the crowded streets? I’ll take you straight to Susie. In a week you’ll laugh at the idle fears you had.”

“How do you know that he is not in the room at this moment listening to all you say?”

The question was so sudden, so unexpected, that Arthur was startled. He looked round quickly.

“You must be mad. You see that the room is empty.”

“I tell you that you don’t know what powers he has. Have you ever heard those old legends with which nurses used to frighten our childhood, of men who could turn themselves into wolves, and who scoured the country at night?” She looked at him with staring eyes. “Sometimes when he’s come in at Skene in the morning, with blood-shot eyes, exhausted with fatigue and strangely discomposed, I’ve imagined that he too. . .” She stopped and threw back her head. “You’re right, Arthur, I think I shall go mad.”

He watched her helplessly. He did not know what to do. Margaret went on, her voice quivering with anguish.

“When we were married I reminded him that