"But the truth is seldom as highly-coloured as our unpleasant imaginings.

The child is--Larpent's daughter." He rose with the words, still suavely smiling.

"And now, if she is well enough, I am going to ask you to take me to her.

It will be better for her to hear about her father from me than from a stranger." Though courteously uttered, his words contained a distinct command.

The doctor looked at him with the hostility born of discomfiture, but he raised no protest.