He looked at her as though he did not know her, and yet he spoke her
name.
"Maggie," he said, "I've come to say good-bye. You know what I said
before. Well, it's come true. Father is dead, and I killed him."
With a terrible effort, beating down a terror that seemed personally
to envelop her, she said:
"No, Martin. I saw him die. It wasn't you, Martin dear."
"It was I," he answered. "You don't know. I came into the house
drunk and he heard what I said to Amy. He nearly died then. The
doctor in the evening said he must have had some shock."
She tried to come to him then. She was thinking: "Oh, if I've only
got time I can win this. But I must have time. I must have time."
He moved away from her, as he had done once before.
"Anyway, it doesn't matter," he said. "I've killed him by the way
I've been behaving to him all these months. I'm going away where I
can't do any harm."
She desperately calmed herself, speaking very quietly.
"Listen, Martin. You haven't done him any harm. He's happier now
than he's been for years. I know he is. And that doesn't touch us.
You can't leave me now.
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