retiring man, who preferred to do good by stealth. It was only through
Mr. Stapleton, his neighbour & intimate friend, that Sir Charles had
learned of her plight.
"Did you ever write to Sir Charles asking him to meet you?" I asked
Mrs. Lyons.
She flushed with anger. "Really, sir, this is a very extraordinary
question," she replied.
"I am sorry, madam, but I must repeat it."
"Then I answer, certainly not."
"Not on the very day of Sir Charles's death?"
The flush had faded in an instant, and a deathly face was before me.
Her dry lips could not speak the "No" which I saw rather than heard.
I quoted her the passage from the letter, and I thought that she had
