"Well?"
"Well, that has only one meaning, when it comes from the one woman. I must know where she is."
Max set his lips and studiously averted his face.
"Come! Tell me where she is! Time counts."
"I do not know."
"I expected that! You're lying, of course; but when you're up against a man in my frame of mind, lies are poor ammunition. I don't ask you why she has gone—that's between her and me, that's my affair. But I must know where she is."
"I cannot tell you."
"You cannot refuse to tell me! Look here, boy, you've always seen my soft side, you don't believe there is a hard one. But we Irish can surprise you."
Max had no physical fear, but he backed involuntarily before the menace in Blake's eyes.
"I'm not lying to you, Ned. I cannot tell you, because I do not know. My sister Maxine has ceased to exist—for me, as much as for you."