Похититель трупов

           ‘Mydearfellow,’hesaid,‘beitasyouplease;mylastthoughtistooffendyou. Iwouldintrudeonnone. Iwillleaveyoumyaddress,however—’ 

           ‘Idonotwishit—Idonotwishtoknowtheroofthatsheltersyou,’interruptedtheother. ‘Iheardyourname;Ifeareditmightbeyou;Iwishedtoknowif,afterall,therewereaGod; Iknownowthatthereisnone. Begone!’ 

           Hestillstoodinthemiddleoftherug,betweenthestairanddoorway;andthegreatLondonphysician,inordertoescape,wouldbeforcedtosteptooneside. Itwasplainthathehesitatedbeforethethoughtofthishumiliation. Whiteashewas,therewasadangerousglitterinhisspectacles; butwhilehestillpauseduncertain,hebecameawarethatthedriverofhisflywaspeeringinfromthestreetatthisunusualsceneandcaughtaglimpseatthesametimeofourlittlebodyfromtheparlour,huddledbythecornerofthebar. Thepresenceofsomanywitnessesdecidedhimatoncetoflee. Hecrouchedtogether,brushingonthewainscot,andmadeadartlikeaserpent,strikingforthedoor. Buthistribulationwasnotyetentirelyatanend,forevenashewaspassingFettesclutchedhimbythearmandthesewordscameinawhisper,andyetpainfullydistinct, ‘Haveyouseenitagain?’ 

           ThegreatrichLondondoctorcriedoutaloudwithasharp,throttlingcry; hedashedhisquestioneracrosstheopenspace,and,withhishandsoverhishead,fledoutofthedoorlikeadetectedthief.