"Stop! Stop!" he cried in an angry voice. "That's the man I was
bringing here! He's not fit to be left alone. I tell you he's the
daft man! I'm only a friend!"
"Quite so, sir," said the servant quietly. "It will be all right if
you will step in for a few minutes. We can easily explain to the
Governor."
Two other attendants had appeared on the scene by this time, and the
gentle pressure of the servant's hand on his arm induced the hapless
Farquharson to ascend the steps once more and enter the hall.
He repeated his explanation to the other men, who treated it in the
same quiet way as the first had done. Then it began to dawn upon him
that they really took him for the madman and McConnachie for his sane
companion.
It was a natural mistake as far as they were concerned; for it was
quite a common thing for patients to suppose every one else to be
mentally afflicted except themselves. Moreover, McConnachie had a more
cultured manner than Farquharson at any time, and when the latter
showed so much excitement on account of the trick which had been played
upon him, he did not appear to advantage. He was so intensely angry
and so apprehensive of the consequences of the disaster that he was
scarcely coherent, and this justified the attendants in their view of
the situation.
The Governor had already been prejudiced against him, when Farquharson
at last obtained an interview with him, and took the same view as the
others.
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