"But why are you so anxious to see her father's letters?"
"They're part of the queer element. Have you ever seen her get one,—or read one from him?"
"Not that I definitely remember; but she may easily have read them right before me, and I not have known it."
"But wouldn't she be likely to read a word or two,—or deliver some polite message he might send?"
"I should think so,—but she never has."
"That's the queerness."
"Oh, do tell me, dear, what you're getting at! Do you think Mr. Thorpe is dead,—and she never told us? There'd be no sense in that!"
"Not a bit! It's something queerer than that."
"Do you think he's married again?"
"Queerer than that."