I got up and made my way toward him, to cut his parade off in mid-march. Up close, his pretense was obvious. The patient was a good actor, and had control over himself and his behavior. He was drenched with sweat from the exertion – but his eyes occasionally darted toward either side – he was keeping a lookout. One could only conclude that he was trying hard to convince others that he was a raving lunatic, a now-useless man, and it would be wisest to let him go in peace before he made trouble for others.
A doctor with a certain training and experience is capable of detecting fakery; it is hard to fool an expert. Little things gave the man’s pretense away: subtle contractions of the muscles, his facial expressions, a mild tremor, throbbing of the blood vessels, sweat, smell, breathing, vib
