Hereupon there began to come into my mind all the strange incomprehensible matters which had whirled through our lives in the last few days.

At first they all crowded in upon me in a jumbled mass; but again the habit of mind of my working life prevailed, and they took order.

I found it now easier to control myself; for there was something to grasp, some work to be done; though it was of a sorry kind, for it was or might be antagonistic to Margaret.

But Margaret was herself at stake! I was thinking of her and fighting for her; and yet if I were to work in the dark, I might be even harmful to her.

My first weapon in her defence was truth.