"No," he said, flatly.
"Is it Reid's knife?"
"Oh, no," he said, quickly.
"You were in love with Miss Melrose?"
"Yes," was the steady reply.
"Had she ever refused to marry you?"
"I had never asked her."
"Why?"
"Is this a third degree?" demanded Curtis, angrily, and he arose. "Am I a prisoner?"
"Not at all," said The Thinking Machine, quietly. "You may be made a prisoner, though, on what you said while unconscious. I am merely trying to help you."