“Yes, I am here, Mrs. Pelham. Can you tell me where Dick is?”
“But don’t you know anything, Barbara?” cried the widow.
“Not yet, but I will know. Put me out of suspense. Tell me at once.”
“Barbara, I cannot. I wish you had not come here. This is dreadful.”
“Tell me at once, Mrs. Pelham. Do you think I am silly? Don’t you know that I am a woman—that I have got both strength and courage? I know that something dreadful has happened. What is it?”
“I suppose I must tell you, but I wish some one else would. Your husband——” Mrs. Pelham paused to wet her lips. They were already so dry she could scarcely bring out the words.
“Yes,” said Barbara.
“Your husband—Dick, has been——”
“Yes?”
“Arrested.”