“You know nothing of North, personally?”
“No; I never met him. Has he no relatives?”
“Haven’t found any yet. But you see, the police don’t hold that it is a criminal case as yet. They say he may have walked out of his own accord.”
“Half dressed, and leaving his watch behind him?”
“And that note to say what had happened! That note rings true, Doctor, and either it is sincere, or North is one of the cleverest scamps I ever met up with!”
“It’s conceivable that he is a scamp, but I can’t see anything that points to it. Why should a perfect stranger to the Varian family cut up such a trick as to come up here and pretend to be kidnapped,—if he wasn’t? It’s too absurd.”
“Everything is too absurd,” said Wise, bitterly.
CHAPTER XIV
A Green Stain
“Tell me more about Betty,” Zizi said, “that is, if you don’t mind talking about her.”
“Oh, no,” Minna returned, “I love to talk about her. It’s the only way I can keep my hope alive!”