“And he has refused even you, eh?” I asked, smiling within myself at the superior knowledge I possessed.
“He has. He refuses, too, to allow his daughter to go to him.”
“But why?” I asked.
“For reasons known, I suppose, to himself.”
“Does he give none?”
“He vaguely answers that certain matters concerning a great scientific discovery he has made compel him at present to hold aloof from both family and friends. He fears, I think, that someone who has discovered his secret may betray it.”
“But surely Ethelwynn would not?” I cried. “I desire to see the Professor because I feel confident he can, if he will, explain the motive of the trap into which my wife has fallen.”
“If he refuses to see his own daughter he will hardly see you,” remarked the dark-faced doctor. “Under exactly what circumstances has Mrs Holford disappeared?”
I briefly explained, at the same time regarding the round-shouldered specialist with some antagonism. To me, it appeared as though he were erecting an invisible barrier between myself and the knowledge of the truth. He seemed entirely Langton’s friend, corroborating his every word.
And the more curious became his attitude when at last I remarked with firm and resolute air: