Hume was standing near the door. Now he came into the middle of the room. I was surprised by the alteration which had taken place in his appearance since I had observed him last. He seemed to have all at once grown old. Outwardly he was cool and calm; but I, who had some knowledge of the man, perceived that he was making a strenuous effort to retain the mastery of himself in face of some most unusual emotion. He spoke with an exaggeration of his usual deliberative manner. “You are aware, Mr. Symonds, that I am not a likely person to interfere with the police in the execution of their duty; but it happens, in this case, that I am acquainted with this young lady, and am sure that she has had no more to do with this crime than”--he paused, he drew in his lips, as if to moisten them--“I have. The account which your officer has given you of her behaviour in the adjoining room is very far from being an accurate representation. She is at present suffering from an obscure mental disease. If you were to proceed to arrest her you would run an imminent risk of permanently disturbing the balance of her brain, and of driving her stark mad. The act, and the responsibility for the consequences of the act, would be yours. Let me finish, Inspector. I quite understand that if you were to allow her to pass entirely from your purview you would be assuming a weighty responsibility in a different direction. I am therefore prepared to give you my personal guarantee that she shall remain at your disposal as witness, or in any other capacity, until it has been made plain that she has had no connection whatever with this most unfortunate affair.” “First of all, what is the lady’s name, who is she, and where does she live?” “She is Miss Bessie Moore, the well-known actress, and she lives with this other lady, Miss Florence Adair, at 22, Hailsham Road, Brompton.” “I’m not much of a theatre-goer, but I have heard of Miss Bessie Moore. I wasn’t aware that she was----” He finished his sentence by touching his forehead with his finger. “I am prepared to certify that, at present, she is mentally incapable; and that to place her under arrest would be to imperil not only her sanity, but her life.” “Very good. And in the presence of these witnesses you undertake to produce her whenever she’s required.” “I do.” “And does Mr. Ferguson join you in that undertaking?” I informed him that I did. “And where is Miss Moore going now?” “To her own home.” “One of our men ought to go with her.” “One of your men will do nothing of the kind,” I observed. Hume said the same thing with a greater flow of language. “If you give me notice of Miss Moore’s being required, for any purpose whatever, I will undertake to produce her within the hour. More, if I have reason to suspect my capacity to continue that guarantee I will advise you on the instant.” “Good. On that understanding Miss Moore is at liberty to go--for the present.”