"My—my—guardian!"
Mrs. Courtney, settling herself cozily into an easy chair, replied blandly:
"Oh, I forgot you went away with Dorian that day, and did not hear about Miser Farnham's terrible accident."
"But, yes, I did, Mrs. Courtney, oh, yes. They told me on the yacht that night. Captain Van Hise told me—that my guardian had been killed on the elevated railroad," Nita cried eagerly, breathlessly.
"He was mistaken," Mrs. Courtney answered placidly. "He was severely wounded, and it was believed that he would certainly die, but he is still alive at Bellevue Hospital, and although nothing but a wreck still, the doctors and nurses say that he will be sure to recover."
She never forgot the white horror of the girl's face, nor the anguish of despair in her eyes.
"Alive?" cried Nita wildly, "alive? Why, how can that be? I am married to Dorian, you know!"
"Yes; and it was a very reprehensible affair, I think," Mrs. Courtney answered stiffly. "An elopement always carries with it the odor of disgrace."
But Nita was deaf to her words of blame. With a stifled moan of the bitterest despair, she fell back unconscious.