e sound of the whistle had brought another two men. They were pulling on brown paper cuffs over their coat-sleeves. They did not look like doctors. They came and caught hold of my ankles.
''Keep her steady,'' said Dr Graves. ''She''s in a convulsion. She may put out her joints.''
I could not tell them that I was not in a fit, but only winded; that the woman had hurt me; that I was anyway not a lunatic, but sane as them. I could not say anything, for trying to find my breath. I could only croak. The men drew my legs straight, and my skirts rose to my knees. I began to be afraid of the skirts rising higher. That made me twist about, I suppose.
''Hold her tight,'' said Dr Christie. He had brought out a thing like a great flat spoon, made of horn. He came to my side and held my head, and put the spoon to my mouth, between my teeth. It was smooth, but he pushed it hard and it hurt me. I thought I should be choked: I bit it, to keep it from going down my throat. It tasted bad.
I still think of all the other people''s mouths it must have gone in, before mine.
He saw my jaws close. ''Now she takes it!'' he said. ''That''s right. Hold her steady.'' He looked at Dr Graves. ''To the soft room? I think so. Nurse Spiller?''
That was the woman that held me by the throat. I saw her nod to him, and then to the men in the cuffs, and they turned so that they might walk with me, further into the house. I felt them do it and began to struggle again. I was not thinking, now, of Gentleman and Maud. I was thinking of myself. I was growing horribly afraid. My stomach ached from the nurse''s fingers. My mouth was cut by the spoon. I had an idea that, once they got me into a room, they would kill me.