"And does he yet live?"
The gipsy paused and hesitated.
"Ask any other member of the tribe, and they will tell thee that he does; but for me, I do not know, I cannot tell."
Cuthbert looked at her in amaze.
"Not know, and he thy father!"
A curious smile crossed her face.
"We think little of such ties amongst the gipsy folk. The tie betwixt us all is stronger than the simple one of blood. We are all of one race--of one stock; that is enough for us. The lesser is swallowed up of the greater."
"But thy mother lives; she must know?"
Joanna's dark eyes glowed strangely.
"Ay, she verily must know; but will she tell what she knows? If it be as I suspect, she must be in the plot."