A door opened at their knock and Joe saw the face of the old scientist who had lived opposite him.
But the old man had eyes only for his wife, and they rushed into each other’s arms in a way that bespoke the deep affection that existed between them.
Joe and Reggie averted their eyes and lingered about uneasily.
The first effusion having passed, Mrs. Bultoza exclaimed:
“And what do you think? I met the brave young man who saved my life in the fire. Oh, I was so happy to see him and thank him again! He was kind enough to bring me all the way up here, and now you can thank him, too.”
The old scientist advanced with beaming face and extended hands. Then, for the first time, he saw Joe’s face.
For a moment he stood as if paralyzed. Then he dropped into a chair, covered his face with his hands, and cried like a child.
“He saved your life!” he cried hoarsely between sobs. “He saved your life! And I have injured him, might have killed him! God have mercy on me!”
Then to his wife, who knelt by his side, pale and horrified, the old man told his story, with frequent interruptions and questions on the part of his wife and Joe, told how he had needed money to finance his invention, how he had met Harrish in trying to raise funds for his experiments, and of how the latter had advanced money on condition that he should test his invention on Joe. He had been sorely pressed, he had been told that the conspirators did not want to injure Joe permanently but just to weaken him for the next few months, and he had yielded to temptation, not realizing the enormity of the project.