CRISIS! As soon as Jerry Hart could get the pertinent facts from his wife, he dashed out of the office on his way home. He jostled* people in the hallway, implored* the elevator operator to hurry, and with flagrant* disregard for an elderly gentleman jumped into the cab he had hailed. The twenty-minute taxi ride seemed interminable* and all the while horrible thoughts occurred to Jerry. Visions of an ugly mastiff with foaming jaws obsessed him. A crowd of people had gathered in front of his house so that Jerry had to force his way through them. Little Bobby was on his bed, surrounded by a doctor, a policeman, Jerry’s doleful wife, his two daughters, and a half-dozen wan neighbors.