“Why impossible?” I asked. “Mr. Humphreys, I believe you know far more than ever you will reveal to me,” I said earnestly. “Do tell me what you know. I don’t conceal the fact from you that I love Thelma.”
“You needn’t. I’ve known that all along. So has Feng. You’ve worn your heart on your sleeve for everybody to see. Ah! how very foolish you have been, my boy. But tell me—are you still determined to solve the mystery concerning Audley’s disappearance?” And again he looked straight into my eyes.
“I am,” I replied, “nothing will deter me from seeking the truth.”
“Nothing?” he asked, with an inscrutable smile.
“No,” I said firmly. “I love Thelma and I mean to clear this mystery up at all hazards.”
The man seated before me drew a long sigh, and I saw that his brows were knit.
“Ah!” he exclaimed. “I repeat that you have been foolish—very foolish, my dear young fellow, and I am afraid that you will regret it when—when too late.”
What I had told him regarding Audley’s meeting with Feng had evidently caused him great anxiety, and I noticed that he had left his wine untouched.
Again he spoke, but his words sounded so faint that I did not catch them. At the same moment I thought I heard in the distance a shrill scream—the scream of a woman!
I listened. The scream was repeated!