“All sounds very delightful; but even though I may let the chance of a fortune slip through my fingers, I cannot leave London at present.”
“But why?”
“A purely private matter,” was his reply, for he did not wish to tell this man anything concerning the strange disappearance of the Doctor and his grave suspicions of Charlie Rolfe. “I can tell you nothing more than that.”
“Well, I’m sure the lady, if she knew that it was in your interests to go to Turkey, would urge you to go,” declared Adam. “She would never keep you here if she knew that you could pull off such a deal as I have put before you.”
“She does know.”
“Oh! And what does she say?”
“She suggested that I should go with you.”
“Then why not come?”
“Because, as I’ve already told you, it is impossible. I am kept in London by something which concerns the welfare of a very dear friend,” Max answered. “You must put it before somebody else. I suppose the affair cannot wait?”
“I don’t want to put it before anybody else. If we do business, I want you and I to share the profits.”