in at the sale; but, fortunately for me, you gained possession ahead
of him."

"Do you mean to say that he told you all this?"

"It came out in a moment of anger."

Fairfax looked at me incredulously.

"See here, Carlyle," he exclaimed bluntly, "I am not questioning your
word, but it is a bit difficult for me to understand why a guest of
mine should indulge in angry controversy with a government prisoner,
sent overseas for sale as an indentured servant. There must have been
some unusual cause. Haven't I a right to know what that cause was,
without using my authority to compel an answer?"

I hesitated, but only for a moment. He undoubtedly was entitled to
know, and besides there was nothing involved I needed to conceal.

"It is my impression, sir, that Mistress Dorothy was the unconscious
cause. She chanced to discover me alone on deck the night before we
landed, and hastened to tell me of your purchase. It was merely an act
of kindness, as we had never spoken together before. We were still
talking across the rope, when Sanchez came out of the cabin, and
joined us. I imagine he may not have liked the interest both you and
the young lady had shown in me since we came aboard. Anyway when he
found us there, he was not in good humor. Mistress Dorothy resented
his language, treated him coldly, and finally departed, leaving him
decidedly angry. He merely vented his spite on me."