sick room faced two on Calumet avenue and two on Twenty-sixth
street, in a quiet part of town, away from the smoke and the roar of
the elevated trains. To make the air more salubrious an oxygen
apparatus had been placed in the room, which liberated just enough gas
to make the air fresh and to give it an autumn twang.

In response to a question as to how he felt, he replied with a laugh:
"I feel as well as a man feels who has a bullet in him."

"But haven't you any pain?" asked someone.

"Well," the colonel said, dryly, "A man with a bullet in him is lucky
if he doesn't experience a little pain."

Here Dr. Terrell, always on watch, held up a warning hand.

"You must not talk much," he said.

"I'll boss this job," said Roosevelt. "You go away and let me do this
thing."

Just then the door opened to admit Elbert E. Martin, the herculean
stenographer who had grabbed Schrank before he could fire a second
shot.

"Here he is," cried the colonel, waving his hand, "here is the man that
did it."

Martin had brought a lot of telegrams. The colonel, lying partly
propped up adjusted the great tortoise shell glasses and proceeded to
look them over. With one of them he seemed especially pleased. It came
from Madison, Wis., and was as follows:

"Permit me to express my profound regret that your life should have
been in peril and to express my congratulations upon your fortunate
escape from serious injury. I trust that you will speedily recover.

(Signed)

"Robert M. La Follette."

"Let me see that again," he said, after turning it back to Martin. When
he had read it a second time he said: "Here, take this," and dictated:

"Senator Robert M. La Follette--Thanks sincerely for your kind
expressions of sympathy."

Half an hour the colonel spent looking over and answering private
telegrams, dictating always in a clear, strong voice. When he had done
he talked with the newspaper men of former experiences of the kind he
had just gone through and of cranks at Sagamore Hill and at the White
House.

"But I never had a bullet in me before," he said.

CHAPTER VI.

GETS BACK INTO CAMPAIGN.

October 17, convinced that he was beyond all possible danger, Col.
Roosevelt resumed the active campaign from his sick room in Mercy
Hospital by dictating a statement in which he requested his political
opponents to continue the fight as if nothing had happened to him.

The colonel awoke feeling as h