George entered unobserved, and stood watching them keenly.
Finally Betty turned to Edgeway.
"You must be mistaken," she said in a voice little above a whisper. "That is Harold's father; he is dead."
"Then I've seen his ghost!" returned Edgeway, unpersuaded.
Betty's heart beat quickly. The longer she looked, the more certain she felt she had seen Will Lambert.
"How could it be?" she asked falteringly.
George came forward quickly.
"Betty!! Mr. Edgeway! Be careful! Say nothing before Mrs. Cadman. The shock would kill her now. What you surmise is true. Will Lambert lives!"
A fearful cry made them turn.
Rigid as a statue, white as death, they beheld Alma! Her lips moved, but she uttered no words. Her eyes gradually roved from their excited faces to the picture smiling on all.