"
Sir Timothy was silent for several moments.
"Have you any idea in your own mind," he persisted, "as to where
she has gone and for what purpose?"
"Not the slightest in the world," Francis declared. "I am just
as anxious to hear from her; and to know where she is, as you
seem to be."
Sir Timothy sighed.
"I am disappointed," he admitted. "I had hoped to obtain some
information from you. I must try in another direction."
"Since you are here, Sir Timothy," Francis said, as his visitor
prepared to depart, "may I ask whether you have any objection to
my marrying your daughter?"
Sir Timothy frowned.
"The question places me in a somewhat difficult position," he
replied coldly. "In a certain sense I have a liking for you.
You are not quite the ingenuous nincompoop I took you for on the
night of our first meeting. On the other hand, you have
prejudices against me. My harmless confession of sympathy with
criminals and their ways seems to have stirred up a cloud of
suspicion in your mind. You even employ a detective to show the
world what a fool he can look, sitting in a punt attempting to
fish, with one eye on the supposed abode of crime."
"I have nothing whatever to do with the details of Shopland's
investigations," Francis protested. "He is in search of Reggie
Wilmore.
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