The more one goes into the matter, the more shudderingly awful it is." Jaffery nodded and stared into the fire.
"And she at the point of death--to complete the tragedy," he said below his breath.
Then suddenly he shook himself like a great dog.
"I would give the soul out of my body to save her," he cried with a startling quaver in his deep voice.
"I know you love her dearly, old man," said I, "but is life the best thing you can wish for her ?" "Why not ?" "Isn't it obvious?
She recovers--she will, most probably, recover; Jephson said so this morning--she comes back to life to find what?
The shattering of her idol.

That will kill her.

My dear old Jaff, it's better that she should die now." Rugged lines that I had never seen before came into his brow, and his eyes blazed.
"What do you mean--shattering of idols ?" "She is bound to learn the truth." He darted forward in his chair and gripped my knee in his mighty grasp, so that I winced with pain.
"She's not going to learn the truth.

She's not going to have any dim suspicion of the truth.

By God! I'd kill anybody, even you, who told her.