"
"The mad woman, you mean!" he laughed.
"She is not mad," I cried, "but as sane as you yourself. It is you who
intended that the horrors of the castle should drive her insane, and
thus your secret should be kept!"
"What do you suggest?" he demanded, stepping a few paces towards me.
"I mean, Xavier Oberg, that you would kill Elma Heath if you dared to
do so," I answered plainly, as I faced him unflinchingly.
"You see?" he laughed, turning to the stout man at my side. "The fellow
is insane. He does not know what he is talking about. Ah, my dear
Malkoff, I've had a narrow escape! He came here intending to shoot me."
"I did not," I protested. "I am here to demand satisfaction on behalf of
Miss Heath."
"Oh!--well, if the lady cares to come here herself, I will give her the
satisfaction she desires," was his crafty reply.
"The lady has escaped you, and it is therefore hardly likely she will
willingly return to Helsingfors," I said.
"It was you who succeeded, by throwing the guard into the water, in
abducting her from the castle," he remarked.
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