"Why, he is n't here at all."
"Why not?"
"Because. Something .... unpleasant ... happened to him."
"Is he dead?"—I inquired with surprise.
"He strangled himself."
"Strangled himself!"—I exclaimed in affright, and clasped my hands.
We both gazed in each other's eyes in silence.
"How long ago?"—I said at last.
"Why, to-day is the fifth day since. They buried him yesterday."
"But why did he strangle himself?"