"Tell the coachman to stop at the nearest doctor's, Antony," she said; and I lowered the glass and told Tom Girtley, who had mounted to the driver's side. "No, no," said Hallett, faintly, for her words seemed to bring him to. "For pity's sake. To my own home. Why have you done this?" She did not speak, but I saw her take his hand, and her eyes fix themselves, as it were, upon his, while a great sob laboured from her breast. "Mr Grace," faltered Miss Carr's sister, "this is very dreadful;" and I saw her frightened eyes wander from the mud-besmeared object opposite her to her sister's injured attire, and the sullied linings of the carriage. "Antony," said Miss Carr then, "do what is for the best." For answer, I lowered the window again and uttered to Tom Girtley the one word, "Home." Fortunately, Revitts was on night duty, and ready to come as the carriage stopped at the door, where we had to lift the poor fellow out, and carry him to his bed, perfectly insensible now from the effects of the blow. I was rather surprised to find the carriage gone when I descended, but my suspense was of short duration, for it soon came back with a neighbouring doctor, whom Miss Carr had fetched. Mary was at hand to show him up, while I ran down to the carriage-door, where Miss Carr grasped my hand for a moment, her face now looking flushed and strange. "Come to me to-night, Antony," she said in a low voice--"come and tell me all." She sank back in the carriage then, as if to hide herself from view, while in obedience to her mute signal, I bade the coachman drive her and her sister home. CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. I FIND I HAVE A TEMPER. I went to Miss Carr's nearly every evening now, to report progress; for her instructions to me, after a consultation between Mr Jabez, Mr Ruddle, Mr Girtley, and myself, were that neither expense nor time was to be spared in perfecting the machine. We had gone carefully into the reasons for the breakdown, and were compelled reluctantly to own that sooner or later the mechanism would have failed; for besides the part I named, we found several weak points in the construction--faults that only a superhuman intelligence could have guarded against. The malignant act had only hastened the catastrophe. It was a cruel trick, and though we could not bring it home, we had not a doubt that the dastardly act was committed by Jem Smith, who was the instrument of John Lister. A little examination showed how easily the back premises could be entered by anyone coming along behind from Lister's, and there was some talk of prosecution, but Hallett was ill, and it was abandoned.