"Heard the news?" asked the manager.
"No," Hatch replied. "What is it?"
"Somebody's shot Mr. Henley as he was passing through the Common early to-night."
Hatch whistled his amazement.
"Is he dead?"
"No, but he is unconscious. The hospital doctors say it is a nasty wound, but not necessarily dangerous."
"Who shot him? Do they know?"
"He knows, but he won't say."
Amazed and alarmed by this latest development, an accurate fulfillment of The Thinking Machine's prophecy, Hatch stood thoughtful for a moment, then recovering his composure a little asked for Cabell.
"I don't think there's much chance of seeing him," said the manager. "He's going away on the midnight train--going South, to Virginia."