“I appreciate this reception,” began Burke. “It occurred to me, to-day, that you might be willing to grant me an interview—”
“On what subject?” came the doctor’s interruption.
“On the subject of Horace Chatham,” answered Burke frankly.
Doctor Palermo laughed, without changing the steady impression of his lips.
“I have stated all that I know about Chatham,” he said, in carefully accented words. “He was here the afternoon before he visited Seth Wilkinson. You will find my statements in the newspapers. That is all that I have deemed it necessary to say.”
He bowed slightly, as though he wished the interview to be concluded. Burke merely leaned back in his chair, blew a puff of smoke from his cigar, and eyed the doctor rather curiously.
“There are certain factors in the case of Horace Chatham,” he said, “that brought me here tonight. I understand perfectly that you have given a complete statement of Chatham’s visit in this apartment.
“But I think — in fact, I feel sure — that Chatham was governed by certain emotions unknown to you.”
“If so,” returned Palermo coldly, “it would not interest me to know them now.”
“And it would interest me to know your opinion regarding them.”