When he missed him,--in the smoking-room, that was,--he asked for him.

"I don't see the chap who came in with us," he said. "Clever fellow. Like

to know his name."

The staff did not know.

K. sat alone on a bench in the hall. He wondered who would tell Sidney; he

hoped they would be very gentle with her. He sat in the shadow, waiting.

He did not want to go home and leave her to what she might have to face.

There was a chance she would ask for him. He wanted to be near, in that

case.

He sat in the shadow, on the bench. The night watchman went by twice and

stared at him. At last he asked K. to mind the door until he got some

coffee.

"One of the staff's been hurt," he explained. "If I don't get some coffee

now, I won't get any."

K. promised to watch the door.

A desperate thing had occurred to Carlotta. Somehow, she had not thought

of it before. Now she wondered how she could have failed to think of it.

If only she could find him and he would do it! She would go down on her

knees--would tell him everything, if only he would consent.

When she found him on his bench, however, she passed him by. She had a

terrible fear that he might go away if she put the thing to him first. He

clung hard to his new identity.

So first she went to the staff and confronted them. They were men of

courage, only declining to undertake what they considered hopeless work.

The one man among them who might have done the thing with any chance of

success lay stricken. Not one among them but would have given of his

best--only his best was not good enough.

"It would be the Edwardes operation, wouldn't it?" demanded Carlotta.

The staff was bewildered. There were no rules to cover such conduct on the

part of a nurse. One of them--Pfeiffer again, by chance--replied rather

heavily:-"If any, it would be the Edwardes operation."

"Would Dr. Edwardes himself be able to do anything?"

This was going a little far.

"Possibly. One chance in a thousand, perhaps. But Edwardes is dead. How

did this thing happen, Miss Harrison?"

She ignored his question. Her face was ghastly, save for the trace of

rouge; her eyes were red-rimmed.

"Dr. Edwardes is sitting on a bench in the hall outside!" she announced.

Her voice rang out. K. heard her and raised his head. His attitude was

weary, resigned. The thing had come, then! He was to take up the old

burden. The girl had told.




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