"A delicious one, thanks."
Valentine began touching the ornaments on the mantelpiece with nervous fingers.
"We didn't quite finish our conversation at dinner," he said.
"No?"
"I did not give you a reason for my belief."
A deep interest woke in the doctor, but he did not show it. He thought:
"So, he must insanely return to this one subject, round which his brain makes an eternal tour."
"No," he said aloud; "you have a reason then?"
"Yes."
Valentine's voice vibrated with arrogance. His hand still darted to and fro on the mantelpiece while he stood looking down at the doctor. There was something in his manner that suggested a mixture of triumph and fighting anxiety in his mind. But, as he continued to speak, the former got the upper hand.