"Believe me, I quite understand," I said, turning to my

mind to step over the body when an apparition sent her starting

back. An old lady was advancing through the drawing-room door,

which remained wide open opposite. And in her terror she recognized

Mme Hugon but could not explain her presence. Still wearing her

gloves and hat, Nana kept edging backward, and her terror grew so

great that she sought to defend herself, and in a shaky voice:

"Madame," she cried, "it isn't I; I swear to you it isn't. He

wanted to marry me, and I said no, and he's killed himself!"

Great!（51）