No one could explain what had happened. After the first noise Krolevich had become curious and had made himself seen. The burglars had raced to the back to find Leland and had panicked. When the one who had shot Krolevich had fired, the other had tried to shoot his way past Leland. At the sound of the first shot a man on the next block had gone to his window and watched Leland come running out of the store. Leland had never hesitated; the man had never seen anything like it. He would never complain about the police again.

The man at the back of the store had been hit twice in the chest. The bullets had entered within the diameter of an inch. Leland was able to tell his father why. He had seen the man go back and had estimated where he had fallen. Still, his father was astounded. He told his father that the second man, in retrospect, had seemed dazed by the crash.

“Oh, you had to shoot,” his father assured him.

“I know that I couldn’t take the chance. What do I tell Karen? Does she understand what happened, that there wasn’t the time to think?”

“She doesn’t want you to worry. Tell her everything. Show her that the thing isn’t preying on you.”

“Who said it isn’t? I killed two human beings, didn’t I?”

“I know. Don’t shut her out, that’s what I mean. She wants to help you. Give her the chance.”

“It didn’t take her long to get here when they called her,” he said.

“There you are,” his father said.

“One thing: no more uniforms for her to get ready.”

“She took your uniform out with her that night. It’s all cleaned and ready to wear. Even the brass is polished.”

“She didn’t tell me that.”

“That’s the way she is,” his father said. “I figured that out about her a long time ago. You have a hell of a girl there. Oh, yes. The newspapers are all over headquarters. They’re sorry about Krolevich, but they can’t help thinking and talking about you. What you did makes them glad they’re policemen. You read the papers. A lot of people got a lot of things out of the way you handled yourself. Think about it.”

He watched his father go out. He wanted to hide. He wanted Karen to hold him like a baby. This was not the first time the desire had come upon him, but now it was what he wanted more than anything. He felt frightened and cold and he didn’t care who knew it.