ed some
fevered patient.

"May I finish what Stephen tried to tell you, my lady?" she crooned,
still stroking back the hair. "And may I first tell you that Mr. Felix
never went to Africa?"

"Oh, but he did!" she cried out again. "I know the men he went with.
He was disgusted with the whole business--so he told one of his
friends--and never wanted to see me or England again."

"You are sure?"

"Yes, I heard about it in Ostend when--" She did not finish the
sentence.

The nurse's free hand now closed on Lady Barbara's thin fingers, with a
quiet, compelling softness, as if preparing her for a shock.

"Mr. Felix--came here--to New York--my lady--and is here now--or was
some weeks ago--doing nothing but walk the streets." The words had come
one by one, Martha's clasp tightening as she spoke.

The wasted figure lifted itself from the pillow and sat bolt upright.

"MARTHA! What do you mean!"

"Yes, right here in New York, my lady."

"It isn't so!" Her hands were now clutching Martha's shoulders. "Tell me
it isn't so! It can't be so!"

"It's the blessed God's truth, every word of it! He and Stephen have
been looking for you day and night."

"Looking for me? Me! Oh, the shame of it, the shame!" Then with sudden
fright: "But he must not find me! He shall not find me! You won't let
him find me, will you, Martha?" Her arms were now tight about the old
woman's neck, her agonized face turning wildly toward the door, as if
she thought that Felix were already there. "You don't think he wants to
kill me, do you?" she whispered at last, her face hidden in the nurse's
neck.

Martha folded her own strong arms about the shaking woman, warming and
comforting her, as she had warmed and comforted the child. She would go
through with it now to the end.

"No, it's not you he wants to kill," she said firmly, when the trembling
figure was still.

Lady Barbara loosened her grasp and stared at her companion. "Then what
does he want to see me for?" she asked, in a dazed, distracted tone.

"He wants to help you. He never forgets that you were his wife. He'll
have his arms around you the moment he gets his eyes on you, and all
your troubles will be over."

"But I do not want his help and I won't accept his help," she exclaimed,
drawing herself up. "And I won't see him if he comes! You must not let
me see him! Promise me you won't! And he must not find"--she hesitated
as if unwilling to pronounce the name--"he must not find Mr. Da