“There are other poor dupes here—at least a dozen of them. Some of them
are maniacs; and Lessman is holding them, I think, with the hope that he
can cure their awful malady. For, as I understand it, he has no power
over a diseased brain. It is only those that are normal that bow to his
bidding.
“We have compared notes. Collins, of Chicago, has rational streaks during
which he is able to talk freely. He, like myself, was a detective. I
remember reading of his strange disappearance over a year ago. He was
on a robbery case, and certain clews led him to New York. Instead of
reporting to the police, he thought to take all the credit and capture
the criminals himself. He trailed them to Doctor Lessman’s place. He,
like myself, fell a victim to the wiles of Meta. Now he is at intervals a
jibbering idiot.
“Several of the poor devils, Collins tells me, were placed here by
distant relatives. Lessman, wearing the garb of sanctity, talks of his
desire to cure them of their nervous disorder, and their relatives, poor
fools, glad to rid themselves of the millstones around their necks, turn
the wretched creatures over to him. He charges a low rate for their board
and medical treatment.
“To one and all he is known as ‘The Bodymaster.’ He teaches them to call
him that. They fear him like the very devil. They talk occasionally of a
revolt. But when he is near they tremble at his frown. His hold over them
is absolute—complete.”
_CHAPTER IV._
_Evidently several weeks elapsed between the last entry in the diary and
what follows. This is to be inferred from the fact that several things
are mentioned as having happened of which there is no record. In all
probability, I was in a semi-somnambulic state during the interval, as a
result of Lessman’s strange power over me. During my entire incarceration
there were times when everything was a blank; at other times, I remember,
there were dim, hazy vistas of things into which I peered. They seem like
dreams. Yet, if they were dreams, of what was their substance? A dream
must have some foundation._