in the morning, and a man was there
with----"

His voice failed him altogether. Braceway, a perplexed look in his eyes,
studied him uneasily.

"The silhouette was quite plain. There was the clear-cut shadow of him
from the waist up. It was so plain that I could see he was wearing
a cap. I could see the visor of it, you know; a long visor. He was a
well-built man, good shoulders, and so on.

"As I got to my feet, the lights were turned off. I went across the
street. I don't think I ran. It was raining. I was going to kill him.
That was all I was thinking about. I was going to kill him, and I wanted
to catch him unawares. I wasn't armed, and I was going to choke him to
death."

The train gates were opened, and passengers began to stream past them
toward the train. Withers lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. Braceway
noticed the unpleasant sound of it.

"He did what I expected; came down the steps without a sound. I didn't
even hear him close the door. I can't say I saw him. It was pitch dark,
and I sensed where he was. I was conscious of all his movements. When he
reached the bottom step, I closed with him. I couldn't trust to hitting
at him. It was too dark.

"I put out my hands to get his throat, but I misjudged things. I caught
him by the waist. He had on a raincoat. I could tell it by the feel of
the cloth. And I couldn't get a good hold of him. While I struggled with
him, he got me by the throat. He was a powerful man, a dozen times
stronger than I am.

"We swayed around there for a few minutes, a few seconds--I don't know
which. We didn't make any noise. I couldn't do a thing. He choked me
until I thought my head would burst open.

"When he realized I was all in, he gave me a shove that made me reel down
the walk a dozen steps. He didn't stop to see what I did. He ran. That
is, I suppose he ran. I didn't hear him, and I didn't see him again. He
disappeared--completely."

Braceway looked at his watch. It was five minutes before train time.

"What did you do then?"

"Nothing."

"Where did you go, then? What did you think? Speed up, George! I want to
get all this before you go."

"Yes," said Withers, a little catch in his throat; "I thought you ought
to know about it. I--I stood there a moment, there in the rain, dazed,
trying to get my breath. I'd intended going in to have it out with Enid.
But I didn't. I suppose I knew, if I did, I'd kill her. And I guess now
I would have.

"You see, I hadn't