helped you to find your husband."

Mary continued to scrutinize him. "Then why are you telling me
now?"

Still Parvis did not hesitate. "Well, to begin with, I supposed
you knew more than you appear to--I mean about the circumstances
of Elwell's death. And then people are talking of it now; the
whole matter's been raked up again. And I thought, if you didn't
know, you ought to."

She remained silent, and he continued: "You see, it's only come
out lately what a bad state Elwell's affairs were in. His wife's
a proud woman, and she fought on as long as she could, going out
to work, and taking sewing at home, when she got too sick--
something with the heart, I believe. But she had his bedridden
mother to look after, and the children, and she broke down under
it, and finally had to ask for help. That attracted attention to
the case, and the papers took it up, and a subscription was
started. Everybody out there liked Bob Elwell, and most of the
prominent names in the place are down on the list, and people
began to wonder why--"

Parvis broke off to fumble in an inner pocket. "Here," he
continued, "here's an account of the whole thing from the
'Sentinel'--a little sensational, of course. But I guess you'd
better look it over."

He held out a newspaper to Mary, who unfolded it slowly,
remembering, as she did so, the evening when, in that same room,