“I do,” firmly, “and I stake my reputation as a detective that Captain Lane is guilty. You were with me, Mr. Hunter, when I overheard Miss Carew exclaim, as Miss Thornton entered her bedroom on Tuesday—‘They quarreled, Eleanor, they quarreled.’”
“She may not have been alluding to Captain Lane,” declared Douglas stoutly; “she may have referred to Philip Winthrop. He also quarreled with Senator Carew.”
“Philip is very much in love with Cynthia and wishes to marry her,” volunteered Thornton quietly.
“Is that why Senator Carew objected to her engagement to Captain Lane?” asked Brett. “Did he wish her to marry Philip Winthrop?”
“I never heard that he did”; Thornton paused and reflected a moment. “I might as well tell you, for you will probably hear it from some one else eventually, that there has been a feud of long standing between the Lanes and Carews.”
Douglas whistled. “A Montague and Capulet affair?” he inquired.
“Exactly. Carew and old Governor Lane were political rivals. Lord! how they hated each other! They almost tore Maryland asunder when running for the governorship, which Lane won by a few votes. Carew charged fraud, which, however, was never proved. They cherished their animosity to the day of Governor Lane’s death, and I can imagine it was a terrible shock to Carew to find that his dearly loved niece wanted to marry the Governor’s son.”
“What sort of a fellow is Lane?” asked Douglas.
“A fine specimen of the American gentleman,” exclaimed Thornton enthusiastically, “a soldier, every inch of him, brave to a fault; he has twice been mentioned in orders for gallant conduct—just the sort of a fellow a romantic young girl like Cynthia would fall head over heels in love with.”