“I have given you the one clew of which I have any knowledge,” he said, meeting Leighton for the first time eye to eye. “I have done what I could, I will still do what I can. But I won’t act at the dictation of a man of whom I know nothing, whom I never even met until this moment.”
“That’s all very well,” replied the other imperturbably. “But, as I said, I depend on you—quite naturally, it seems to me—to help in the recovery of your friend. My niece and I are in this country for the express purpose of solving David’s former disappearance.”
“Your niece?”
“Yes; the woman whom David expects to marry.”
Raoul’s defiant attitude vanished before this announcement. Irritation gave place to amazement, distrust turned to friendliness. Nor did he attempt to conceal his appetite for further news of David’s personal affairs.
“David wrote me nothing of this,” he said. “From his letter I learned that he was coming with friends. He did not tell me who these friends were.”
“Well, there’s every reason why I should be frank with you—as I expect you to be frank with me.”
“You are still suspicious. What can I do, or say? I tell you, I don’t know where David is.”
“Do you know where he was when he disappeared from Bogota three years ago?”
“No.”