He reached the house and went up the steps. The door was open, and,
instead of ringing, he went straight in. But what he did next was the
strangest of all. He could not have told you why he did it any more
than he could have told you why he did anything else. Instead of
knocking at the door or going into any room that he passed, he went
downstairs to the door of the kitchen. There, just for one instant,
he stopped--the first instant that he had stopped since he left the
O'Briens' house. Then, still without knocking, he pushed the door open
and went in.
[Illustration: ]
XI
THE OLD KING COMES BACK
When Mrs. O'Brien and Kathleen left home they walked through the Park
and to the Sullivans'. Peter was away. Terence half sat and half lay
on the floor in a corner. He held his right hand behind him and
covered his face with his left arm. His whole body shook as if he were
riding in a cart over a rough road. Ellen sat close to him, trying to
soothe him and trying to get him to tell her what was the matter.
When Mrs.
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