“‘Where have you been, Helen?’ he asked, as, contrary to his wont, he moved to meet her.
“‘To my mother’s, to Arnold & Constable’s, and to the hospital, as you requested,’ was her quick answer, made without faltering or embarrassment.
“He stepped still nearer and took her hand, and as he did so my physician’s eye noted how his finger lay over her pulse in seeming unconsciousness.
“‘Nowhere else?’ he queried.
“She smiled the saddest kind of smile and shook her head; then, remembering that he could not see this movement, she cried in a wistful tone:
“‘Nowhere else, Constant; I was too anxious to get back.’
“I expected him to drop her hand at this, but he did not; and his finger still rested on her pulse.
“‘And whom did you see while you were gone?’ he continued.
“She told him, naming over several names.
“‘You must have enjoyed yourself,’ was his cold comment, as he let go her hand and turned away. But his manner showed relief, and I could not but sympathize with the pitiable situation of a man who found himself forced to means like these for probing the heart of his young wife.