"Yes, I have had some acquaintance with him," Roy returned.
"Do you know his wife?" the man pursued. "A woman came here last evening, claiming to be his wife, and insisting upon remaining by his bedside as long as he should live."
"Yes, he has a wife," the young man briefly returned, but deeply touched by this evidence of Giulia's devotion.
"Is she a dark, foreign-looking lady, of medium height, rather handsome, and with a slight accent in her speech?"
"That answers exactly to her description."
"I am glad to know it, for we have been in some doubt as to the propriety of allowing her to remain with our patient. We tried to make her leave him, last night, even threatening to have her forcibly removed; but she simply would not go, and is remarkably handy in assisting the nurse, while her self-control is simply wonderful."
Roy wrote a few lines on one of his cards, saying that if either he or Mrs. Bryant could be of any service at this trying time, she might be free to call upon them.
This he gave to the surgeon to hand to Giulia, and then went away.
The following evening the woman made her appearance in their home with her child, whom she begged them to care for "as long as Emil should live."
It could not be very long, she said, with streaming eyes. She loved him still, in spite of everything, and she must remain with him while he breathed.