"Ah!" I said, "you adventurers dare not tell me the truth with your own lips. Remember, I saw the Professor lying dead in this house. You cannot induce me to believe that my eyes deceived me!" "And yet you see the Professor alive before you now!" declared Kirk with a triumphant laugh. But I made a gesture of disgust, declaring that I refused to be fooled further. "You are not being fooled, Mr. Holford," asserted the man in a calm, distinct voice, as he opened the door and called to Antonio. The grave-eyed man-servant entered in a few seconds, and as he did so the new-comer said: "Antonio, will you please tell this gentleman who I am?" "You are my dear master, signore--the Signor Professor Ernest Greer." "I already know, Antonio, that you're a clever liar," I cried, "so you can retire." "The Signorina Ethelwynn has just arrived, signore," remarked the highly respectable manservant. "Ah! then tell my daughter to come up?" he cried. "She will no doubt satisfy Mr. Holford that I am no impostor." "Miss Ethelwynn saw her father lying dead, as I did; how, therefore, can she identify you as her deceased parent? Have you a half-brother, or some relation strongly resembling you?" "No, I have not," was his quick reply. "I am simply Professor Ernest Greer, whom a thousand persons living can identify." At that moment the fair-haired girl neatly attired in fur jacket, tailor-made skirt, and toque entered, and, with a spring, fell into the impostor's arms and kissed him. That piece of acting was, without doubt, perfect. Yet I stood aside and smiled. Had not Kirk previously admitted to me that his earnest endeavour was to secure my silence? "Am I your father?" asked the dark-eyed man of Ethelwynn, standing with his hand upon her shoulder. "Of course you are, dear dad! Why?" "Because this gentleman will not believe it!" he laughed. "This is my father, Mr. Holford," the girl declared, turning to me. "But did not you, with your own eyes, see your father dead in his laboratory?" I asked seriously. "Are you not being misled, as these men are trying to mislead me?" I suggested. She hesitated, glancing towards the man who posed as the Professor as though expecting him to reply for her. "No," I went on, "this is a conspiracy--a plot to place this man in a dead man's shoes. And you know it, Miss Ethelwynn." "I tell you he's my father!" the girl persisted. "Cannot you believe us?" "Not without some independent proof," I said. This persistence angered me. "Then what proof do you require?" asked the man. "Shall I call the park-keeper at Clarence Gate? He has known me and seen me every day for a number of years." "Call him, if you wish," I said, though, truth to tell, I did not intend to be longer fooled by the ingenious machinations of Kirk and his gang. Antonio was sent to find the park-keeper, who, in due time, appeared, carrying his gold-laced hat in his hand.