"Well?"--ungraciously.

Sangster hesitated; finally:

"Did--did Cynthia say anything to you to-night?--anything special, I
mean?"

Jimmy laughed drearily.

"She said it was cold, or something equally interesting. She also said
that I might call upon her any afternoon, and that she was always
pleased to see her 'friends.'" He accented the last word bitterly.
"What did you expect her to say to me?" he inquired.

"Nothing; at least . . . you know what they are saying in the clubs?"

"What are they saying?"

"That she is engaged to Mortlake."

Through the darkness he heard Jimmy catch his breath hard in his throat.

"Of course, that may be only club talk," he hastened to add kindly.

"I never thought it could be anything else," said Jimmy with a rush.
"I know it's a lie, anyway. How can she be engaged to Mortlake, or any
other man--if her husband is living?"

"No," Sangster agreed quietly. "She certainly cannot be engaged to any
other man if her husband is still living."