She stopped in confusion, her face crimson now. She did not wish to make the confession.
Frank secured her hand. She tried to draw it away, but he did not permit her to succeed. He leaned toward her, whispering:
“I will tell you why it was, Inza. Elsie Bellwood wrote you something you did not like. Ah, I am right!”
“Something I did not like?” she repeated, attempting an evasion. “Why, Elsie is my dearest friend. Even if she did write something I did not like, how could that affect us?”
Frank laughed softly.
“Inza, tell me the truth,” he urged. “Of course there was a reason why you treated me so.”
With a sudden toss of her head, she looked him straight in the eyes, something more than a suggestion of defiance in her manner.
“Well, suppose that Elsie did write something I did not like. What was it? Tell me that.”
“And tell you something you already know. I do not believe Elsie Bellwood would write anything that was not strictly true. You know I was with her on Captain Bellwood’s vessel for a long time, and Elsie is one of my dearest friends.”
“Nothing more?”