The girl hesitated and then a flush mounted to her face. "Yes, I can. I—I did not wish to speak of it before, yet I see no harm in doing so. About four months ago Mr. Styles asked me to marry him. I told him I could not do so. He was very persistent and said he had more money than I imagined. I told him that that would make no difference, that I did not love him and did not wish him to mention the matter again."
"How did he take your refusal?"
"He was very bitter and overbearing. He said I had better think it over, and he hinted something about having my father in his power. He did not say it in just so many words but he hinted at it."
"Did he mean about the patent?"
"No, I think it was something else. But I did not pay much attention,
for I thought he was talking merely to get me to consider his suit, and
I did not wish to consider it, for I had become acquainted with
Raymond."
"Did he ever bother you after that?"
"Only once, when I met him on the road. Then he asked me again, and said I'd be sorry some day if I refused him."
"Humph!" Adam Adams mused for a moment. "Now to change the subject.
When did Matlock Styles last call on your father?"
"He called several times last week. I don't know exactly when he called last. But I do know that my father was greatly excited over something, and that he called in my stepmother and she was excited, too. I was not told what it was about."
"Well, to drop him, do you know a man named John Watkins, of Bryport?"