"
"Exactly. And now the fellow fears that as you are so actively searching
out the truth, she may yield to your demands and explain. He therefore
intends to silence her."
"What! to kill her, you mean?" I gasped, in quick apprehension.
"Well, he might do so, in order to save himself, you see," Jack replied,
adding: "He certainly would have no compunction if he thought that it
would not be brought home to him. Only he, no doubt, fears you, because
you have found her, and are in love with her."
I admitted the force of his argument, but recollected that my dear one
was safe in concealment, and that the Princess was our friend, even
though I, as an Englishman, had no sympathy with the doctrine of the
bomb and the knife.
I tried to get from him all that he knew concerning Elma, but he seemed,
for some curious reason, disinclined to tell. All I could gather was
that Leithcourt was in league with Chater and Woodroffe, and that Muriel
had acted as an entirely innocent agent. What the conspiracy was, or
what was its motive, I could not discern.
Pages:
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409