"It is more than a week."
Strange revelations were to follow.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The detective was beginning to take a more favorable view of the character of the man in the rubber coat.
"It is over a week since you saw Renie?"
"Yes."
"When you saw her last had you reason to fear any special danger she was likely to encounter?"
"Why do you ask that question?"
"You were on the way to this cottage, as you admit, after a week's absence, and when you reach here and find the old boatman murdered and the girl gone, you claim you have an idea as to what has befallen her."
"You reason well, my friend, and the time has arrived when absolute frankness must exist between you and me; the girl's immediate safety demands that you and I should perfectly understand each other. I will admit that I had a suspicion concerning you."