"I knew that De Sanchez came here for the express purpose of marrying her," was the reply. "That could mean only a resolution formed when Joyce was a mere child." He abruptly paused. "What is it?" he asked.
Converse had suddenly become electrified into a tense alertness. He grasped the chair-arms, as if imminently upon the point of springing up. Quite suddenly, again, his normal impassiveness reasserted itself.
"Go on, go on," said he, with a haste not altogether free from eagerness.
"Do my words suggest anything?"
"They do. But go on."
"Well," resumed Clay, "when Joyce took that trip to Mexico, she was too young and inexperienced to appreciate a fact that later became susceptible of interpretation. Looking back to that time, she could not fail to see that his conduct was then directed toward herself; that it greatly annoyed her father, although General Westbrook seemed to handle the situation easily; and that the subsequent severance of all relations between the two men, which presently followed, was not entirely without an explanation. Joyce was blind to the man's attentions, except now and then when some incident of unusual ardor instinctively struck a note of warning, causing her to wonder dimly, then it passed and was forgotten. The fact is, that De Sanchez must have been struck all of a heap, for he seems to have inaugurated a campaign of wooing of characteristic Latin warmth, ready to override all other considerations. Joyce is of the impression that her father discouraged this design of the other man's in no uncertain manner."
The speaker paused. It was obvious that he was arranging his thoughts, and Converse waited without moving.
"Next, De Sanchez appears here, and soon events begin to shape themselves in a way that, seemingly, can't be explained. For instance, when you consider what happened in Mexico, and the hiatus between that time and De Sanchez's appearance, how can you account for the endeavors in his behalf which gave him an immediate social prestige locally? How can you account for the fact that his suit was not only favored, but that pressure was brought to bear upon Joyce to gain her consent? Knowing that she regarded the man with especial dislike, how can you explain her hovering on the very verge of giving in?"
"Did she never enlighten you?" The Captain was regarding the young man curiously.
"No." A tinge of bitterness crept into his reply. "She merely said her father had convinced her that it was her duty to marry De Sanchez."