able. If an Angel of
the Lord was going to tarry upon earth, the celestial being would
naturally prefer the society of a retired U.S.A. colonel to that of a
passel of triflin', no-'counts at an ol' clapboard church house. Be that
as it may, he could always find the blessedness in Colonel Hampton's
room, and sometimes, when the Colonel would be asleep, the blessedness
would follow him out and linger with him for a while.

* * * * *

Colonel Hampton wondered, anxiously, where Dearest was, now. He had not
felt her presence since his nephew had brought his lawyer and the
psychiatrist into the house. He wondered if she had voluntarily
separated herself from him for fear he might give her some sign of
recognition that these harpies would fasten upon as an evidence of
unsound mind. He could not believe that she had deserted him entirely,
now when he needed her most....

"Well, what can I do?" Doctor Vehrner was complaining. "You bring me
here to interview him, and he just sits there and does nothing.... Will
you consent to my giving him an injection of sodium pentathol?"

"Well, I don't know, now," T. Barnwell Powell objected. "I've heard of
that drug--one of the so-called 'truth-serum' drugs. I doubt if
testimony taken under its influence would be admissible in a court...."

"This is not a court, Mr. Powell," the doctor explained patiently. "And
I am not taking testimony; I am making a diagnosis. Pentathol is a
recognized diagnostic agent."

"Go ahead," Stephen Hampton said. "Anything to get this over with....
You agree, Myra?"

Myra said nothing. She simply sat, with staring eyes, and clutched the
arms of her chair as though to keep from slipping into some dreadful
abyss. Once a low moan escaped from her lips.

"My wife is naturally overwrought by this painful business," Stephen
said. "I trust that you gentlemen will excuse her.... Hadn't you better
go and lie down somewhere, Myra?"

She shook her head violently, moaning again. Both the doctor and the
attorney were looking at her curiously.

"Well, I object to being drugged," Colonel Hampton said, rising. "And
what's more, I won't submit to it."

"Albert!" Doctor Vehrner said sharply, nodding toward the Colonel. The
pithecanthropoid attendant in the white jacket hastened forward, pinned
his arms behind him and dragged him down into the chair. For an instant,
the old man tried to resist, then, realizing the futility and undignity
o