"
"You know I have not. If I have been as closely followed as you say,
you must know why I spoke to that girl and others, why I went to the
house of the Schoenmakers and--Do you know?" he suddenly inquired.
Mr. Gryce was not the man to answer such a question as that. He eyed
the rich signet ring that adorned the hand of the gentleman before
him and suavely smiled. "I am ready to listen to any explanations,"
said he.
Mr. Blake's haughty countenance became almost stern. "You consider
you have a right to demand them; let me hear why."
"Well," said Mr. Gryce with a change of tone, "you shall.
Unprofessional as it is, I will tell you why I, a member of the
police force, dare enter the house of such a man as you are, and put
him the questions I have concerning his domestic affairs. Mr. Blake,
imagine yourself in a detective's office. A woman comes in, the
housekeeper of a respected citizen, and informs us that a girl
employed by her as seamstress has disappeared in a very unaccountable
way from her master's house the night before; in fact been abducted
as she thinks from certain evidences, through the window. Her manner
is agitated, her appeal for assistance urgent, though she
acknowledges no relationship to the girl or expresses any especial
cause for her interest beyond that of common humanity.
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