“No; I suppose not.”
“Well, then, as he never did go home,—hasn’t been there yet,—what theory is there except that he was prevented from going there? He may have been kidnaped,—don’t smile, it is among the possibilities,—or, he may have met with a serious accident,—slipped and broken his leg or something of that sort. But in such a case, he would have been taken to a hospital, and I should have heard of it. No, Mr. Brice, he was carried off by some powerful enemy. I say powerful, meaning rather, clever or diplomatic, for as I see it, trickery would have been used, not force, to abduct Amory Manning.”
“But why abduct him?” I cried in amazement “What is he? Why is he a menace?”
“I can’t tell you, Mr. Brice, unless it becomes gravely necessary. But it has to do with—with men higher up,—and it has nothing to do with my guardian’s death,—of that I’m certain.”
“Very well, Miss Raynor; I trust you, of course, that goes without saying, but I also trust your judgment in reserving your full confidence in this matter.”
“You may. I assure you I will tell you all, if it becomes imperative that I do so. Meantime, let us try to find some trace of him.”
“You have tried the hospitals?”
“Yes; I have telephoned to some of them, and I asked our family doctor to inquire of others. He did so, but with only negative results. Now——”
“Now, it’s time to call in a detective,” I said, positively. “And I don’t mean a mere police detective, but a special investigator. Have you any objection to such a course?”
“No; not if we get a good one. I don’t know much about such things, but don’t some of those all-wise detectives have more theories and deductions than results?”