"What will you be called thed?—a vegetable? I tell you agaid that you are ad adibal, add ad out-ad-out ugly adibal to."
"Recrimination," said the doctor, "will never solve this mystery. I have not the slightest doubt," he continued, addressing the serjeant, "that that which you have stated is substantially correct, and that if the man entered the window above he is in the house now. The only question therefore is, 'Where is that man?' We have searched the house down to this parlour in vain; but I shall not—I cannot—feel satisfied, until we have completed the search."
"Then let us proceed," said the serjeant, "at once."
"It's no use," said Ninety-nine. "We shall find nothing."
"How is it possible for you to know that?" said the doctor.
"Kdow it," said Tom, "why he'd swear it. A fellow who'd swear to the shape of a shirt, would swear ady thidg."
"Let us have no more recrimination," said the doctor. "We have had enough of that."
It is certain that as they proceeded to the kitchen, Tom did not expect that any man would be found, for he utterly disbelieved the tale of the policemen, conceiving it to be impossible for any man to run on that coping in the manner described—but at the same time equally certain is it that he hoped that some man might be found, inasmuch as—independently of the pleasure it would have given him to thrash the prime cause of his skeleton's fall—he perceived that both his father and his mother had inspired the conviction expressed by Ninety-nine.
"Well," said the doctor, when the kitchens had been searched, "it is perfectly clear that no stranger is in the house. I shall, therefore, return to my chamber with the full assurance of security. I thank you for your vigilance," he added, on reaching the hall, "but should it ever occur again, you will oblige me by ringing the bell at once, that we may go up and see what madman it is."
"We certainly will do so," said the serjeant. "I should have come over before, in this instance, but of course I knew not which house to come to, until I saw the maniac—for a maniac he must be to place himself in a position of so much peril—enter the window."
"We shall catch you yet," said Ninety-nine, addressing Tom, who—enraged at the fact of being accused of that of which of course he knew that he was innocent, and galled more especially by the knowledge of Ninety-nine having induced his father and mother to believe that in reality he was that "maniac"—rushed at him on the instant, and struck him to the ground.
Ninety-nine drew his truncheon, but Tom, who could have crushed him, wrenched it in an instant from his hand, when the doctor rushed between them, and angrily cried "Tom! are you my son, or a madman broke loose?"
"Your son!" replied Tom, pronouncing the n well, "and I should be udworthy of being your son, if I allowed byself to be idsulted with ibpudity by a wretch like that!"
"Here, give me this thing—give me this thing," said the doctor,
