To-night for the first time I was told that this was not the fact.

I understood, from what my informant said, that he had died recently." She drew a sharp breath between her teeth, and suddenly struck the cushioned arm of the carriage by her side with her clenched hand.
"It is a lie!" she declared.

"Whoever told you so, it is a lie!" "Do you mean that he is not dead ?" I exclaimed.

"Do you mean that you have not seen him yourself--within the last few months ?" she demanded fiercely.

"He left me to come to you on the first day of the New Year." "I have never seen him to my knowledge in my life," I answered.
She leaned back in her seat, murmuring something to herself which I could not catch.