Before we realized it there came a sudden outburst of feeling.

"And now--they are keeping me here by force!" she cried.

Doctor Burr looked at us significantly, as much as to say, "Just
what might be expected, you see." Kennedy nodded, but made no
effort to stop Mrs. Cranston.

"They have told Roger that I am insane, and I know he must believe
it or he would not leave me here. But their real motive, I can
guess, is mercenary. I can't complain about my treatment here--it
costs enough."

By this time she was sitting bolt upright, staring straight ahead
as though amazed at her own boldness in speaking so frankly before
them.

"I feel all right at times--then--it is as though I had a
paralysis of the body, but not of the mind--not of the mind," she
repeated, tensely. There was a frightened look on her face, and
her voice was now wildly appealing.

What would have followed I cannot guess, for at that instant there
came a noise outside from another of the rooms as though
pandemonium had broken loose. By the shouting and confusion, one
might easily have wondered whether keepers and lunatics might not
have exchanged places.

"It is just one of the patients who has escaped from his room,"
explained Doctor Burr; "nothing to be alarmed about. We'll soon