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The stranger put the pistol on the dresser and produced a coiled length of sturdy rope from one pocket He reached beneath his coat and withdrew a short, wide-bladed knife that was evidently kept in a sheath attached to his belt He cut the rope into pieces hich, no doubt, to bind Markwell to the chair

The doctor stared at the pistol on the dresser, calculating his chances of reaching the weapon before the guner’s winter-blue eyes and realized that his sche was as transparent to his adversary as a child’s si was apparent to an adult

The blond o for it Paul Markanted to live He remained docile and compliant, as the intruder tied hi the knots tight but not painfully so, the stranger seemed oddly concerned about his captive "I don’t want to have to gag you You’re drunk, and with a rag jaht vo to trust you But if you cry out for help at any time, I’ll kill you on the spot Understand?"

"Yes"

When the gunue accent, so mild that Markwell could not place it He clipped the ends of souttural note that was barely perceptible

The stranger sat on the edge of the bed and put one hand on the telephone "What’s the number of the county hospital?" Markwell blinked "Why?"

’ ’Daive it to me, I’d rather beat it out of you than look it up in the directory" Chastened, Markwell gave hiht?" "Dr Carlson Herb Carlson" "Is he a good man?" "What do you mean?"

"Is he a better doctor than you-or is he a lush too?" "I’m not a lush I have-"

"You’re an irresponsible, self-pitying, alcoholic wreck, and you know it Answer my question, Doctor Is Carlson reliable?"

Markwell’s sudden nausea resulted only partly froence in Scotch; the other cause was revulsion at the truth of what the intruder had said "Yeah, Herb Carlson’s good A very good doctor"

’’Who’s the supervising nurse tonight?"

Markwell had to ponder that for a moment "Ella Hanlow, I think I’inia Keene"

The stranger called the county hospital and said he was speaking n behalf of Dr Paul Markwell He asked for Ella Hanlow

A blast of wind sla in the eaves, and Markas re snow at the , he felt another gust of disorientation blow through hi, the inexplicable intruder-that suddenly it did not seem real He pulled at the ropes that bound hiossaain

At the phone the stranger said, "Nurse Hanlow? Dr Markon’t be able to coht One of his patients here, Janet Shane, is having a difficult labor Hmmmm? Yes, of course He wants Dr Carlson to handle the delivery No, no, I’m afraid he can’t possibly ht He’d be a danger to the patient Nohe’s so drunk, there’s no point putting hi a lot lately, trying to cover it, but tonight he’s worse than usual Hhbor Okay Thank you, Nurse Hanlow Goodbye"

Markas angry but also surprisingly relieved to have his secret revealed "You bastard, you’ve ruined me"

"No, Doctor You’ve ruined yourself Self-hatred is destroying your career And it drove your wife away froht’ve been saved if Lenny had lived, and it ht even have been saved after he died if you hadn’t withdrawn into yourself so completely"

Markas astonished "How the hell do you knohat it was like with me and Anna? And how do you know about Lenny? I’ve never noring the questions, the stranger piled two pillows against the padded headboard of the bed He swung his wet, dirty, booted feet onto the covers and stretched out "Noyour son wasn’t your fault You’re just a physician, not aAnna was your fault And what you’ve becoer to your patients-that’s your fault too"

Markwell started to object, then sighed and let his head drop forward until his chin was on his chest

"You knohat your trouble is, Doctor?"

"I suppose you’ll tell , never knew adversity Your father ell-to-do, so you got everything you wanted, went to the finest schools And though you were successful in your practice, you never needed the ot polio, you didn’t kno to deal with adversity because you’d never had any practice You hadn’t been inoculated, so you had no resistance, and you got a bad case of despair"

Lifting his head, blinking until his vision cleared, Markwell said, "I can’t figure this"

"Through all this suffering, you’ve learned soh to think straight, you ot a slim chance to redeem yourself"

"Maybe I don’t want to redeem myself"

"I’m afraid that could be true I think you’re scared to die, but I don’t know if you have the guts to go on living"

The doctor’s breath was sour with stale pepperue swollen He longed for a drink

He halfheartedly tested the ropes that bound his hands to the chair Finally, disgusted by the self-pitying whine in his own voice but unable to regain his dignity, he said, "What do you want fro to the hospital tonight I want to be damn sure you don’t deliver Janet Shane’s baby You’ve become a butcher, a potential killer, and you have to be stopped this time"

Markwell licked his dry lips "I still don’t knoho you are"

"And you never will, Doctor You never will"

Bob Shane had never been so scared He repressed his tears, for he had the superstitious feeling that revealing his fear so openly would tempt the fates and insure Janet’s and the baby’s deaths

He leaned forward in the waiting-room chair, bowed his head, and prayed silently: Lord, Janet could’ve done better thanI’ to turn big profits, but she loves ood, honest, humbleshe doesn’t deserve to die Maybe You want to take her ’cause she’s already good enough for heaven But I’h yet, and I need her to help e doors opened

Bob looked up