Page:Harold Macgrath--The girl in his house.djvu/140

 on accidentally that morning? Or had the scrubwoman forgotten to turn them off? He looked at his watch. It was nearly two. He turned the key and pushed in the door. But he did not cross the threshold immediately.

Seated at the desk, with his head on his arms, was a man. All that Armitage could see was the shape of the head and a few straggling wisps of drab hair. Armitage waited, confused as to how to act. Finally he stepped over to the desk, laid a hand firmly on the sleeper's shoulder, and pulled him back to an upright position. His hand fell away suddenly.

The stranger was Bordman.

"You?" cried Armitage, stormily.

"I must have fallen asleep," said Bordman, softly. "I didn't know that I could ever fall asleep again." "Of all the colossal nerve! Bordman, I'm going to have you locked up just as soon as I can get the police here," declared Armitage as he picked up the telephone.

"It is too late."

"Not by many hours!"

"I am dying."