"Of course I love her. And she returned my love. We were secretly engaged, and were to be married when we had finished these extremely important experiments. It is infamous though, to accuse me of having killed her; if I have done so, then it was no fault of mine."
"Then you did kill her?"
"No, no. I cannot believe she is really gone."
"Why did you evade her parents' inquiries?"
"Because ... I have been trying to bring her ... to re-materialize her."
"You mean to bring her back to life?"
"Yes."
"Couldn't a doctor do that better than you, if she is hidden somewhere about here?" asked Phillips gravely.
"No, no. You do not understand. She cannot be seen, she has dematerialized. Oh, go away. I'm the only man, save, possibly, my friend Doctor Morgan, who can help her now. And Morgan—I've thought of calling him, but I've been working every instant to get the right combination. Go away, for God's sake!"
"We can't go away until we have found out Miss Crawford's fate," said Phillips patiently.