A neat maid answered the bell, but she stood squarely in the doorway, and it was impossible to preserve one’s dignity and pass her.
“Miss Armstrong is very ill, and unable to see any one,” she said. I did not believe her.
“And Mrs. Armstrong—is she also ill?”
“She is with Miss Louise and can not be disturbed.”
“Tell her it is Miss Innes, and that it is a matter of the greatest importance.”
“It would be of no use, Miss Innes. My orders are positive.”
At that moment a heavy step sounded on the stairs. Past the maid’s white-strapped shoulder I could see a familiar thatch of gray hair, and in a moment I was face to face with Doctor Stewart. He was very grave, and his customary geniality was tinged with restraint.
“You are the very woman I want to see,” he said promptly. “Send away your trap, and let me drive you home. What is this about your nephew?”
“He has disappeared, doctor. Not only that, but there is every evidence that he has been either abducted, or—” I could not finish. The doctor helped me into his capacious buggy in silence. Until we had got a little distance he did not speak; then he turned and looked at me.
“Now tell me about it,” he said. He heard me through without speaking.