"No!" came sharply. "They suspect Margaret—Miss Langmore."
"Ah!"
"Yes. It is—is preposterous—absurd, but they insist. And that is what has brought me to you. I want to prove her innocence to the world. Do that, and you can name your own price, Mr. Adams."
"You have a high regard for the young lady—you are close friends?"
"More. I may as well tell you, though so far Margaret and I have kept the matter more or less a secret. I love her and we are engaged to be married."
"Did Mr. Langmore know of his daughter's engagement?"
"He did, and he approved of it."
"And what of Mrs. Langmore, didn't she approve?"
"She did not know of it. Margaret did not tell her."
"Why not?"