Doctor Q admitted them immediately, and they noticed with astonishment
the wonderful change for the better that had taken place in the man. For
with the restoration of his mind all the evil lines of his face had been
obliterated, as it were, and in the place of the doddering half-imbecile
they found a genial, kindly, and distinguished gentleman who, with the
utmost hospitality, brought chairs and begged them to be seated.
Zita, in her anxiety to know the truth, could hardly contain her
impatience. Tossed from pillar to post, dominated once by the strong,
evil mind of Balcom, Zita had run the gamut of human emotions before she
had barely passed her girlhood.
Seeing her agitation, Locke undertook to interrogate the doctor.
"Doctor Q," he began, "I believe you know the perpetrator of the crimes
to which we have all been subjected, and we have come to you in all
friendliness to ask you to clear this mystery up for us. Balcom is
dead," added Locke, pointedly.
"Yes, I know that," interrupted Doctor Q.
"You know?" all asked. "How do you know?"
The doctor told of having seen Balcom's body. But at first he could not
explain why he was in the spot at the time.
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