185
"I listened. All was quiet.
"No, there was a groan—a low, dying wail.
"It seemed to proceed from the white room.
"I shuddered with horror.
"I rushed in.
"The recollection of what I saw freezes the very marrow in my bones.
"'Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold of my flesh.'
"I saw a pool of coagulated blood on the dazzling-white, fur carpet, and Teleny, half-stretched, half-fallen, on the bearskin-covered couch. A small dagger was plunged in his breast, and the blood continued to trickle out of the wound.
"I threw myself upon him; he was not quite dead; he groaned; he opened his eyes.
"Overwhelmed by grief, distracted by terror, I lost all presence of mind. I let go his head, and clasped my throbbing temples between my palms, trying to collect my thoughts and to dominate myself so as to help my friend.
"Should I pluck the knife from the wound? No, it might be fatal.
