"Good! I'll be the sleeping partner," he said in an amused tone; "but I warn you, Mr. Denham, that from what I see of this case it will be one of great difficulty, and may take months to work out."
"I don't mind that; it is nothing to an idle man like myself; but I am afraid, Dr. Merrick, I take up your valuable time."
"Oh, I can spare a few minutes," said the doctor quickly. "I work hard enough, so it is permitted to even a professional man to indulge occasionally in some amusement. This case is so to me."
"Well, and your idea?"
"In the first place, I am inclined to agree with your ideas of Felix passing himself off as Francis."
"I have abandoned that idea," said I dolefully; "I saw Felix in Paris."
"Wait a moment," replied Merrick, "we'll come to that later on. Furthermore, I believe it was Felix you met at Marshminster--Felix, who called himself Francis, and posed as the lover of Miss Bellin."
"But I saw him in Paris," said I, again clinging to that undeniable fact.
"I know you did, but the pretended Francis of Marshminster, and the real Felix of Paris, are one and the same person."
"You mean that he followed me over?" I cried, suddenly enlightened.