_That_ is certain death."
"But your brother would surely dispute her removal."
"He would, and oppose it inch by inch. We must get him away, before we
attempt to remove her."
"How?"
"I will find the means for that. I know something of his business
relations, and can invent some false cry for luring him off the trail. We
_must_ get him away. The poor girl was not in actual danger when you left
her, was she?"
"No, thank God, there was no appearance of immediate danger. But she was
very ill. And that man holds her life in his hand. He knows that I have
come to London in search of a doctor. What if--"
"Keep yourself quiet, Hawkehurst. He will not hasten her death unless he
is desperate; for a death occurring immediately after your first
expression of alarm would seem sudden. He'll avoid any appearance of
suddenness, if he can, depend upon it. The first thing is to get him
away. But the question is, how to do it? There must be a bait. What bait?
Don't talk to me, Hawkehurst. Let me think it out, if I can."
The lawyer leaned his elbows on the table, and abandoned himself to
profound cogitation, with his forehead supported by his clenched hands.
Valentine waited patiently while he thus cogitated.
"I must go down to Phil's office," he said at last, "and ferret out some
of his secrets. Nothing but stock-exchange business, of an important
character, would induce him to leave Charlotte Halliday.
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