" was Captain
Cannonby's answer, given in a hearty tone. "To what do you allude?"

Lionel paused. Was it possible that he--Captain Cannonby--was in
ignorance? "Tell me one thing," he said. "Your brother mentioned that
you had heard, as he believed, some news connected with me and--and my
wife, in Paris, which had caused you to hurry home, and come down to
Verner's Pride. What was that news?"

"The news I heard was, that Mrs. Massingbird had become Mrs. Verner. I
had intended to find her out when I got to Europe, if only to apologise
for my negligence in not giving her news of John Massingbird or his
property--which news I could never gather for myself--but I did not know
precisely where she might be. I heard in Paris that she had married you,
and was living at Verner's Pride."

Lionel drew a long breath. "And that was all?"

"That was all."

Then he was in ignorance of it! But, to keep him in ignorance was
impossible. Lionel must ask confirmation or non-confirmation of the
death. With low voice and rapid speech he mentioned the fears and the
facts. Captain Cannonby gathered them in, withdrew his arm from
Lionel's, and stood staring at him.

"Fred Massingbird alive, and come back to England!" he uttered, in
bewildered wonder.

"We cannot think otherwise," replied Lionel.

"Then, Mr. Verner, I tell you that it cannot be. It _cannot_ be, you
understand. I saw him die. I saw him laid in the grave."

They had not walked on. They stood there, looking at each other,
absorbed in themselves, oblivious to the attention that might be fixed
on them from any stray passers-by. At that moment there were no
passers-by to fix it; the bustle of Deerham only began with the houses,
and those they had not yet reached.

"I would give all my future life to believe you," earnestly spoke
Lionel; "to believe that there can be no mistake--for my wife's sake."

"There is no mistake," reiterated Captain Cannonby. "I saw him dead; I
saw him buried. A parson, in the company halting there, read the burial
service over him."

"You may have buried him, fancying he was dead," suggested Lionel,
giving utterance to some of the wild thoughts of his imaginings.
"And--forgive me for bringing forward such pictures--the mistake may
have been discovered in time--and--"

"It could not be," interrupted Captain Cannonby. "I am quite certain he
was dead. Let us allow, if you will, for argument's sake, that he was
not dead when he was put into the gr