"What is that?" asked Mrs. Kenyon, stopping short and turning pale.
Mr. Kenyon bit his lip. He feared that his wife would suspect too soon the character of the institution. But Dr. Fox was prepared for the question.
"It is poor Tommy Briggs," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "He is in the sick-ward."
"But what is the matter with him?" asked Mrs. Kenyon, shuddering as another wild shriek was borne to her ears.
"He has them only at intervals, say once a month. To-morrow he will be all right again."
Mrs. Kenyon accepted this explanation without suspicion.
"About the age of Oliver," she remarked, turning to her husband.
"What a misfortune it must be to have a boy so afflicted! How I pity his poor mother!"
"Come up another flight, please," said Dr. Fox. "We will begin our examination there."
Dr. Fox drew a bunch of keys from his pocket, and applying one to the door opened it.
"Do you keep them locked in?" asked Mrs. Kenyon, surprised.
"This is one of the dormitories," answered the doctor, who never lost his self-possession. "Come in, please."
It was a large square room. In one corner was a bed, surrounded by curtains. In the opposite corner was another bed--a cot.
"Sit down one moment, Mrs. Kenyon," said the doctor. "I want to call a servant."
He left the room, and Mr. Kenyon followed him.
The two men regarded each other with a complacent smile.
"Well, it's done," said the doctor, rubbing his hands. "She walked into the trap without any suspicion or fuss."
"You'd better lock the door," said Mr. Kenyon nervously.
"Now," said he, "if you will follow me downstairs we will attend to the business part of the matter."
The business referred to consisted of the payment of three months' board in advance.
"Now, Dr. Fox," said his new patron, "you may rely upon punctual payment of your bills. On your part, I depend on your safe custody of my wife as long as her mind remains unsound."
"And that will be a long time, I fancy," said the doctor, laughing.
Mr. Kenyon appreciated the joke, and laughed too.
"I must leave you now," he said. "I hope you won't have much trouble with her."
"Oh, have no anxiety on that score," said the doctor nonchalantly. "I am used to such cases; I know how to manage."
The two men shook hands, and Mr. Kenyon left the asylum a free man.