"I never dreamt it was you Cyril" answered Helen taking his thin hand in hers, for now all her heart seemed to warm towards the man who had wronged her so much and who was so soon going to leave her.
"No of course not" replied the dying man "you never thought I would come to this—(here he stopped for breath), "but I want to tell you this before I die."
"Cyril you must not die" cried Helen, opening her basket and producing some wine.
"No, no" gasped Cyril pushing the glass away "its no use, I know I'm dying, the doctor said so; give me some water to ease my throat and I'll go on."
Helen gave him his wish and then knelt down beside him while he continued.
"After I left you Helen, that day you went to Richmond, I intended going to Picadilly to pawn some things as I had no money to pay my debts. When I got back to my amazement a letter from Mr. Palsey was waiting for me, which explained that the police were already on our track and that if I valued my life I had better leave London and go to some place with him. Of course I had no choice but to go, but oh Helen if you could have known my feelings when I thought I should not see you again. Hastily I scrawled a note to you and added a few lines to my will, you read them did'nt you?"
Helen nodded in assent.
"Well" continued Cyril, "having made my preparations, I started off to meet Palsey. We traveled together. I forget where we were going. Palsey told me how he had escaped after he had been locked up in the drawing room. We had to change at Charing Cross I think and scarcely had we set foot on the platform, when up came two policemen and before we could say a word we found ourselves handcuffed. Well to make a long story short we were tried and I was sentenced to 10 years penal servitude, and Palsey who had done the most part of the crime had penal servitude for life. Well after three years of my time had passed, I was granted a free pardon for saving the life of someone. I have no time to tell the whole story now. At first I was delighted at the mere thought of being free again, but then I recollected I had no friends nobody to care wether I lived or died. When I was set free I wandered about trying in vain to find you Helen. But I got no news of you, untill one day I read of your marriage in the paper. Then I gave up all hope of ever seeing you again. Soon after I fell ill and spent many weeks in an old barn, attended only by a child who used to go messages for me etc: till I was well enough to walk about again. Then my wanderings began again, and I found them harder than ever. After my severe illness I could no longer bear sleeping out. I had to buy lodgings wherever I happened to be, and once or twice when I had no money I had to sleep out in the fields. That did for me Helen. From that day I grew much worse. A young man took pity on me one night and gave me a room in his house for nothing. But with his exception no one cared and so I wandered on untill late one night I arrived at this miserable inn. I did'nt know where I was, but I thought it safe to take another name. So I was brought up here, where I should certainly have died had not some one down in the bar mentioned your name, and then the excitement of seeing you kept me up——
Here Cyril stopped gasping for breath and Helen with her tears fast falling administered water to him and propped up his pillows.
"Helen" cried Cyril at last, he could barely talk now, "do you forgive me?"