with blood. The sudden shock of the realization that
I was wounded, together with the sharp pain which the touching of the
wound gave me, roused me to the necessity of quick and sudden action. I
tried to rise, but my legs seemed made of stone. I fell over upon my
side and then began to crawl laboriously and painfully toward the door.
The choking sensation increased every moment. For a time I thought I
should never be able to reach it, and then with a rush I thought of
Muriel, and all that the future held for us, and I made a last terrible
effort, dragged myself across the few feet remaining between myself and
the door, and, with barely enough strength left to reach up and turn the
knob, managed somehow to fall across the threshold and into the hall.

I fell with my head and most of my body in the passageway, and, as a
result of my almost superhuman efforts, must have again become
unconscious. When I once more revived, I no longer felt the horrible
sensation of choking which had before oppressed me, and I attributed
this to the cold air of the hall. I felt very weak, and my head was
lying in a pool of blood, but my senses were fairly clear, and I knew
that I must regain my room and attempt in some way to stop the flow of
blood from my wound. After some difficulty I managed to rise, and
staggered into my room. My first thought was of a flask of whiskey which
I usually carried in my bag. I prayed that in sending down my things
from London it had not been removed. After groping about for a few
moments I came upon it, and lost no time in swallowing the bulk of its
contents. Under this sudden and violent stimulation I began to feel
better, my strength began to return, and I managed to find a wax taper
and light the gas. A look into the mirror caused me to shudder. My face
and the entire right side of my head was a gory mass of blood, which,
even as I stood there, dripped in heavy drops upon the white cloth on
the top of the dresser. I hastily seized a towel and managed to bring my
face to some appearance of the human, after which I soaked a couple of
handkerchiefs in cold water and bound them upon the wound. It proved to
be a long, irregular gash, extending from the side of my head some two
or more inches back of the temple down nearly or quite to my right
ear. It was still bleeding profusely, but the blood matting with my
hair, had begun to coagulate and in the course of an hour or more,
during which I constantly renewed the