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 would stick in her mind, however completely she might ignore impressions at this moment.

"A bullet wound, Marjorie. A man fired at him; a man who was in the apartment up there."

So far he was safe; or, at least, if this were not safe to tell her, there was no way for him to do better. For those were facts which, in an instant, she must learn. And he could not think again whether the rest of his story for her would hold with her later; he had to give some explanation immediately and, having nothing better, he gave it as they all ran up the stairs.

"Your father'd come down here to see Mr. Russell, Marjorie, you see. He was stopping in here to see him on business before taking the train. Mr. and Mrs. Russell had been out. He met them just as they were coming back; they all came in together. They found a man in the flat; your father and Russell went for him and he fired."

Gregg saved his breath; they were at the door of the third apartment which Gregg had left unlatched be hind him. They went in and Marjorie was grasping Doctor Grantham; in a moment she was in the room with her father. Billy went with her; but Gregg did not. He dropped back into the living room and stood there, intending not to hear; but he did hear Marjorie trying to speak to her father. Her father, of course, was still unconscious; he could not hear. Best for him, Gregg thought; for Gregg, himself, went weak and sick. He had not known, until this moment, how much Marjorie loved her father; likely enough, he thought, she had not realized it herself until now. She would not have. Nothing had ever happened to him before, she had said; she had never known him even sick; and now to find him dying, probably! That fine,