“Is that all you know?”
“Yes.”
“It has not occurred to you that private influences may be at work which those who might wish to help you are powerless to resist, and which make your quest absolutely unattainable and impossible?”
“I admit I have had fears of that, but I shall not believe it impossible until I know what those influences are.”
“I have told you that I know it to be impossible, Mr. Donnington.”
“Will you tell me more—what these private influences are?”
“I cannot without speaking of things that must be secret; without revealing a story of shame and crime.”
“Why should I sacrifice an object which is more to me than any I have ever desired because another person has done wrong?”
“You must not even seek to discover it.”
“On the contrary, I will know it within the next few hours.”