“Have I not already done so repeatedly?  Have I not told you that Duffel’s prospects are fairer than those of any other young man of your acquaintance?  Is he not wealthy?  Has he not one of the best farms in the country?  What more do you want?”

“A man of principle, not of property.”

“And is not Duffel a man of principle?  Is he not strictly honorable in all his dealings?”

“He may or may not be honest in his dealings; I do not allude to business, but moral principle, and in this I think he is decidedly wanting.”

“Why do you think so?”

“His actions and manners impress me with such a belief; I feel it more than see it, yet I am as fully satisfied on that point as if he had told me in so many words that he had no regard for the restraints of morality and religion, save such as a decent respect for the customs and opinion of society enjoins.”

“Mere fancy again!  I’d like to know if you expect to live in any of the air-castles you are building?”

“I think there is not quite as much probability of my inhabiting one of them as there is of Duffel’s incarceration in the penitentiary.”

“What do you mean, girl?”

“To be plain, I do not believe Duffel’s wealth was honestly obtained, or is honestly held.  You have heard of the Secret Gang of Horse Thieves, I suppose.  Well, I overheard this immaculate Duffel of yours, without any intention on my part, conversing with a ’hale fellow well met,’—­no other than the stranger you yourself suspected of being a villain—­and from the tenor of their remarks, they belong to some clique of rascals.  I could not gather a very distinct idea as to what the organization was formed to accomplish, for I could not hear all that was said; but I learned enough to satisfy myself that all was not right.  I had not mentioned the circumstance before, for the simple reason that I wished to obtain stronger evidence against the parties, but you have my secret—­act upon it as you think best.”

This conversation will sufficiently explain itself.  A father desires his daughter to marry against her will, because a wealthy suitor proposes for her hand, but she cannot accede to his wishes, because, we presume, she has a romantic notion that love ought to have something to do, in making matrimonial connections.

The father was somewhat taken aback by the revelations of the daughter at the close of their interview, and left her to ponder on the subject, and, if possible, to ascertain the truth as to the guilt or innocence of the parties suspected.

Duffel, from some source, obtained an inkling of how matters stood, and seeing the father, had a long interview with him in private.  What was the purport of his part of the conference, and the object he had in view, may be gathered from the following passage between father and daughter.

“So, ho, my girl, you thought to deceive me concerning young Duffel, did you?”