"
"In other respects," Sir Timothy said, stretching out his hand
towards a cedar-wood box of cigarettes and selecting one, "this
man seems quite sane. I have watched him very closely on the way
here, but I could see no signs of mental aberration. I do not
think, at any rate, that he is dangerous."
"Sir Timothy," Shopland explained, with some anger in his tone,
"declines to take me seriously. I can of course apply for a
search warrant, as I shall do, but it occurred to me to be one of
those cases which could be better dealt with, up to a certain
point, without recourse to the extremities of the law."
Sir Timothy, who had lit his cigarette, presented a wholly
undisturbed front.
"What I cannot quite understand," he said, "is the exact meaning
of that word 'abduction.' Why should I be suspected of forcibly
removing a harmless and worthy young man from his regular
avocation, and, as you term it, abducting him, which I presume
means keeping him bound and gagged and imprisoned? I do not eat
young men. I do not even care for the society of young men. I
am not naturally a gregarious person, but I think I would go so
far," he added, with a bow towards Miss Hyslop, "as to say that I
prefer the society of young women. Satisfy my curiosity,
therefore, I beg of you.
Pages:
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211