Eva Trout (37 page)

Henry did so, lightly on the cheek.

“Constantine,” asked Eva, “what is ‘concatenation’?”

Her last words.

“Well here he comes, running,” said Mrs. Caliber.—”But, oh my!”

Jeremy, at sight of Eva, had twisted free from Iseult—who had not succeeded in disarming him. Making a spurt, he sped like a boy on the screen towards the irradiated figure, waving his weapon in salute. It was the Arbles, hard after him, who then best saw as a whole what happened. Eva joyfully stepped clear of her friends and, unable to take in anything but that this
was
Jeremy, held out her arms. From behind her, there rose above other warnings a great cry of terror from Henry. She turned round in terror to see what was wrong with Henry. That instant, the revolver went off. She fell, while the shot rang round Victoria station.

Jeremy could not stop running on. A woman bystander to whom nothing was anything had the quickest reflex—she snatched him back before he could fall over the dead body.