Here, too, a man--a tall, thick-set man--was loitering; and, as he looked inquisitively into my face, I turned and reentered the court, slowly retracing my steps.

As I again reached the gate of the house I stopped to look up once more at the windows, and turning, I found the man whom I had last noticed close behind me.

Then, in a flash of dreadful comprehension, I understood.

These two men were plain-clothes policemen.
For a moment a blind fury possessed me.

An insane impulse urged me to give battle to this intruder; to avenge upon his person the insult of his presence.