If it hadn’t been close on to midnight he would have gone home there and then. But now Harrington was well nigh helpless, and Rex knew nothing about New York. Where was he going to sleep that night? Harrington was in no condition to have questions put to him now.
A fixed look came over Rex’s face.
“I must go now,” he said, looking around for his hat and valise.
“What, you’re not going off and leave Harrington, are you?” asked Atkins.
“I can’t do anything more for him and I must get out of this place. Perhaps I’ll call in the morning to see how he is. Good night. I’m much obliged to you.”
“Well, I suppose you are better off out of here, but aren’t you going to hire a room in the hotel?”
“No, I want to get as far away from the place as possible.”
Rex noticed that Stout was looking around at him. He shut the door quickly and hurried off. He breathed a great sigh of relief when he reached the open air.
He turned down a side street to collect his thoughts before deciding what to do. He wandered till he reached the middle of the block, then, finding his valise heavy, he set it down on the sidewalk to rest a minute.
It was after midnight and very quiet. Suddenly he felt something hit him in the face, and then for a minute or two all was a blank to him.