“Please keep your seat a moment longer, Mr. Lynne,� he said. “Of course it is not likely that you will know just what happened at your country place last night, until the local police have investigated, but there are a few questions which you might answer me, if you care to do so, which might be important.�
“Pardon me, but I don’t quite see what you have to do with it, Mr. Carter. You have not been asked for an opinion.�
Nick shrugged his shoulders, determined not to pay any attention to this man of so many attitudes.
“You have a daughter, Mr. Lynne. Do you happen to know where she is at this moment?� he asked.
The man sat up straight in his chair, grasping both arms of it tightly so that his knuckles stood out white and distinct. His brows drew together in a straight frown, and in a voice that was entirely unlike any that he had used before, so harsh was it, he exclaimed:
“Really, sir, you go too far. You exceed——â€�
“Do you know if your daughter went to Pleasantglades last night?� Nick interrupted him.
“I know that she did not go there. But what——â€�
“She did go there.�
It was an interruption, but it was a very quiet one; yet the four words were said with such a precise enunciation that the man stared at the detective for several seconds before he at last exclaimed: