"And if I did? What then?" I asked, speaking boldly in a clear voice,
my eyes fixed upon his, for remember I was fighting for knowledge of my
dear wife's whereabouts.
"Well--if you did," was his deliberate reply, "it would be you yourself
that would suffer, Mr. Holford, and no one else."
Was it not astounding, startling?
This doctor, the bosom friend of Ethelwynn's lover, had given me exactly
the same threatening reply as Antonio had given me on the Pincian in
Rome.
What could it mean? The reason why the false Professor was avoiding
friends and enemies alike was, of course, sufficiently plain to me. But
for what reason was my well-beloved Mabel, the loving wife whom I
adored, held in the unscrupulous hands of those who killed Professor
Greer?
And why was every effort of mine to discover her met only by threats of
impending disaster?