"He couldn't force you to marry his son, could he?" asked Ben.
"No, but he has made it very disagreeable to me to oppose him, and has even gone so far as to threaten me with imprisonment in a madhouse if I do not yield to his persuasions."
"He must be a rascal!" said our hero indignantly.
"He is," said Miss Sinclair quietly.
"I don't see how he can do such things in a free country."
"He has only to buy over two unscrupulous physicians, and in a large city that can easily be done. On their certificate of my insanity I might any day be dragged to a private asylum and confined there."
"I don't wonder you ran away, Ida."
"I feel perfectly justified in doing so. Liberty and the control of my own person are dear to me, and I mean to struggle for them."
"What makes you think of going to California? is it because it is so far off?"
"Partly; but there is another reason," said Miss Sinclair. "I will not conceal from you that there is a person there whom I wish to meet."