He wouldn't even need to keep it secret. It's completely legitimate to say "We were trying to prove XYZ and didn't, but the data does hint that ABC might be tru

He wouldn't even need to keep it secret. It's completely legitimate to say "We were trying to prove XYZ and didn't, but the data does hint that ABC might be true. Let's do another study looking specifically at ABC." This is how a lot of Science gets done.