he had picked up outside. It contained some poor provisions--a loaf, a
piece of fat bacon, and a paper of tea. As far as they could guess (and
as they learned later they guessed rightly) the man was the master of
the house, who, coming home blind drunk from some distant inn, had
fallen at his own threshold and got frozen to death. As they could not
unclasp his fingers from the broken bottleneck they had to let him
clutch it as a dead warrior clutches the hilt of his broken sword.

Then suddenly the whole place was rent with another and yet another
long, soul-piercing moan of anguish.

"There's a second room," said Doyne, pointing to a door. "The sound
comes from there." He opened the door, peeped in, and then, returning
for the lamp, disappeared, leaving McCurdie and Biggleswade in the pitch
darkness, with the dead man on the floor.

"For heaven's sake, give me a drop of whiskey," said the Professor, "or
I shall faint."

Presently the door opened and Lord Doyne appeared in the shaft of light.
He beckoned to his companions.

"It is a woman in childbirth," he said in his even, tired voice. "We
must aid her. She appears unconscious. Does either of you know anything
about such things?"

They shook their heads, and the three looked at each other in dismay.
Masters of knowledge that had won them world-wide fame and honour, they
stood helpless, abashed before this, the commonest phenomenon of nature.

"My wife had no child," said McCurdie.

"I've avoided women all my life," said Biggleswade.

"And I've been too busy to think of them. God forgive me," said Doyne.

* * * * *

The history of the next two hours was one that none of the three men
ever cared to touch upon. They did things blindly, instinctively, as men
do when they come face to face with the elemental. A fire was made, they
knew not how, water drawn they knew not whence, and a kettle boiled.
Doyne accustomed to command, directed. The others obeyed. At his
suggestion they hastened to the wreck of the car and came staggering
back beneath rugs and travelling bags which could supply clean linen and
needful things, for amid the poverty of the house they could find
nothing fit for human touch or use. Early they saw that the woman's
strength was failing, and that she could not live. And there, in that
nameless hovel, with death on the hearthstone and death and life
hovering over the pitiful bed, the three great men went through