d arduous journey, coupled with the strain and
excitement of the day and evening, had culminated in intense weariness;
and when Gallagher's order came, it would have been a superhuman effort
to offer any protest.

Reaching his room, he took off his boots, and, partially undressing,
threw himself upon his bed.

How many hours he slept the deep sleep of utter exhaustion he did not
know. His first effort at awaking consciousness was a thrill of nervous
fright that made him sit up in bed, aware with a sudden shock that some
one was knocking imperatively on his door and calling him by name in
low, agitated tones.

"Mr. Milbanke! Mr. Milbanke! Wake, please! Quick! Mr. Milbanke!"

He stared into the darkness for an instant in dazed apprehension; then
he slid out of bed, fumbling blindly for his dressing-gown.

"Coming!" he called. "Coming!"

Having found the garment, he crossed the room stumblingly, thrusting
his arms into the sleeves as he went.

Opening the door, he realised the situation with a sick sinking of the
heart. Clodagh stood in the corridor with a blanched face, holding a
candle in her shaking hand.

"Oh, come, please!" she exclaimed. "Come quick!"

Without a word he stepped forward, and the two hurried down the
passage.

In the sick-room the fire was glowing and additional candles had been
lighted. For a second Milbanke paused at the door; then, as his eyes
grew accustomed to the access of light, the scene became clear to him.
On the bed lay Asshlin, his head partly propped up by pillows, his eyes
wide, his breath coming in slow, difficult gasps; Gallagher was moving
about the room with more quickness and deftness than the Englishman
could have believed possible; Mrs. Asshlin, unnerved, and yet
fascinated, leaned upon the end of the bed; while Nance--crying
silently--followed the nurse to and fro in dazed, half-comprehending
fear; and Hannah, the household factotum, crouched behind the door,
weeping and murmuring inarticulate prayers.

The picture turned Milbanke cold. With an instinctive gesture he
paused, with the intention of shielding it from Clodagh's sight. But at
the very moment that he turned towards her, a convulsion shook the
dying man. He half-lifted himself in bed, his eyes staring wildly; as
Gallagher rushed forward, a faint sound escaped him, his head fell
forward, and his body collapsed in the doctor's arms.

There was a breathless, appalled silence--a silence that seemed to
extend