That something was wrong was indisputable, but I couldn’t do anything till I knew what it was. I put my fingers on the hand over her face and felt for her pulse. I don’t know why, for I haven’t the least idea how a pulse ought to beat. As it was I couldn’t find any beat at all and dropped her hand.
“I’ll have to get a doctor, I’ll call the man in the boarding house opposite.”
“Don’t,” she said in a voice which, for the first time, showed a note of life. “If you bring a doctor here I’ll go out in the street as I am.”
She was in the blue kimono. I didn’t know whether she had strength enough to move, but if she had I knew that she would do as she said and the night was freezing.
“I won’t call the doctor if you’ll tell me what’s happened to you?”
“I’ll tell you,” she said, and raising the hand from her face caught at my skirt. I bent down for her voice was very low, hardly more than a whisper.
“Masters has left me.”
“Left you,” I echoed, bewildered. “He was here last night. I saw him.”
Her eyes held mine.
“Left me for good,” she whispered, “forever.”