Then there was a clashing
snap, like a rat-trap closing, and the howls sharpened into a scream and
then were still.
"Danbury had been on the look-out for symptoms all day, and now he had
found them. He looked once more at the thicket, saw a pair of savage
red eyes fixed upon him, and fairly took to his heels. It might only be
a passing delusion, or it might be the permanent mania of which the
doctor had spoken, but anyhow, the thing to do was to get back to bed
and to quiet, and to hope for the best.
"He forgot the hounds, the hunt, and everything else in his desperate
fears for his own reason. He sprang upon his mare, galloped her madly
over the downs, and only stopped when he found himself at a country
station. There he left his mare at the inn, and made back for home as
quickly as steam would take him. It was evening before he got there,
shivering with apprehension, and seeing those red eyes and savage teeth
at every turn. He went straight to bed and sent for Dr. Middleton.
"'I've got 'em, doctor,' said he. 'It came about exactly as you said--
strange creatures, optical delusions, and everything. All I ask you now
is to save my reason.' The doctor listened to his story, and was
shocked as he heard it.
"'It appears to be a very clear case,' said he.
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