A few minutes later I altered my opinion of Dr. Merril. He was not so commonplace, or so unobservant as I had imagined. He examined Edgecumbe carefully, and, as I thought, asked sensible questions, which Sir Thomas and Lady Bolivick, both of whom had come into the room, answered readily. Although he did not speak to me, he doubtless noticed how interested I was in his patient, and more than once I saw that he looked at me questioningly.
'I admit I am baffled,' he said at length.
I took this as a good sign as far as he was concerned; anyhow, he was not a man who professed to be wise, while he was in actual ignorance.
'I gather from what you say,' he went on, speaking to Sir Thomas, 'that Captain Luscombe knows most about him.'
'That is so, Merril,' replied Sir Thomas. 'I have explained to you the circumstances under which he came here.'
'That being so,' and the doctor spoke very gravely, 'I think it would be best for you all to leave me, except Captain Luscombe.'
'There is something here beneath the surface,' said Dr. Merril when we were alone, 'something which I cannot grasp. Can you help me? Evidently you have been thinking a great deal.'
'As far as I can judge, he has sufficient vitality to keep him alive for a few hours. I should judge him to be a man of remarkable constitution and great physical strength.'
'You are quite right there. His power of endurance is extraordinary.'
'What I can't understand,' said the doctor, 'is that there is no apparent cause for this, and yet there is some force of which I am ignorant undermining the very citadel of his life. I have never met such a case before, and unless help comes, he will die in less than twelve hours. I am speaking to you quite frankly, Captain Luscombe; from what I know of you, you are quite aware of the limitations of a medical man's power, and my experience during the time I have lived in this district has not been of a nature to help me in such a case as this. Will you tell me what you know of your friend?'
As briefly as I could, I gave an outline of what I have written in these pages, while the doctor, without asking a single question, listened intently.
'You say he does not drink?' he asked, when I had finished. 'He gives not the slightest evidence of it, but it is necessary for me to know.'