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"What do I tell the doctors?" asked O’Brien

"The truth," answered Warthrop "You discovered her wounded in the woods"

We joined the others standing in the no- trench No one spoke It was as if ere all waiting for so for The men seemed shell-shocked; their breath was shallow, and the color was high in their cheeks Morgan lit his pipe with shaking fingers, the y pince-nez Warthrop beckonedscreen of s carefully through the tangle of albino limbs and the twisted headless torsos of his victi in the warm, moist air

"Warthrop, lend me your revolver"

I handed it to hi female-onto her back, and her body jerked in response A claiped feebly at his leg Kearns jaer He stepped over to another, poking it in the side with the toe of his boot, then, just to be sure, shot it, too He cocked his ear toward the ground, listening for any sounds of lingering life I heard only the hissing trench and the soft, whispery rain Kearns nodded with satisfaction and handed the gun to the doctor

"Count them, Warthrop You, too, Will We’ll coht bullet-ridden, shrapnel-torn corpses The doctor concurred; he had counted the sareed Kearns

"There’s one more, sir," I said

"Under the platform" "Under the platform?" asked Kearns, startled

"I killed it"

" You killed it?"

"I shot it, and then I stabbed out its eyes, and then I stabbed out its brain"

"Stabbed out its brain!" cried Kearns with a laugh "Well done, Mr Assistant-Apprentice Monstruist! Very well done indeed! Warthrop, award this boy the Society’s highest honor for bravery!"

His sray eyes seemed to darken

"That makes twenty-nine Assume three, perhaps four immature juveniles tucked away someplace safe, and we are at thirty-two or thirty-three"

"About e estian Kearns in a rare ht toher description Warthrop, the ained so carcasses Strained to its breaking point by the events of the previous two days, there was not h for him to reassert-or attempt to, at least-a measure of his authority His tone with Kearns was stern and unco

"You are under arrest, sir"

"On what charge?" asked Kearns, blinking coquettishly

"Murder!"

"She is alive, Robert," Warthrop said "At least, she hen she left"

"Atteer headless monsters out of season," offered Kearns helpfully