"What happened?" I asked breathlessly.
"I believe I had a fit," my uncle answered slowly; "at any rate, I was very ill."
"And you missed the new moon on the grave?"
"I missed the new moon on the grave."
"And you never saw her again?"
"I never saw her again——"
"But, uncle, do you really believe?—Can the dead?—was she—did you——"
My uncle took out his pipe and filled it.
"It's a long time ago," he said, "a many, many years. Old man's tales, my dear! Old man's tales! Don't you take any notice of them."
He lighted the pipe, puffed silently a moment or two, and then added: "But I know what youth means, and happiness, though I was lame, and the girls used to laugh at me."