"When I reproached the man for browbeating my daughter, he actually retorted that we had no right to try and pin him to a certain line of conduct, and not _pay_ him for it! _Shameless!_ But that sample will show you what we are going _through_. I shall indeed rejoice for every reason when you are restored to us. You have told me that your cousin OEnone has what amounts to a million of American dollars, all her own, and that her father intends giving you another million on your marriage to her; so you will be in a position to complete your bargain with this Fiend. In order to obtain the money, he will _have_ to keep his part of the agreement. "Yes, 'Fiend' is the word. Indeed, I used it aloud this afternoon in addressing him, so utterly did he enrage me. He will not allow Marise to go with me to Los Angeles and accept the loan of Bell Towers, which you so kindly placed at our disposal till your return with your poor little invalid, OEnone. He has a house of his own, out West, it seems--Arizona or somewhere _wild_-sounding. I believe it's near the Grand Canyon--wherever _that_ is! And heaven alone knows what it's like--the _house_, I mean, not the Canyon, which I am told is an immense abyss miles deep, full of _blood_-red rocks or something terrific. "Garth insists that the unhappy child shall accompany him to this desolate spot, which is more or less on the way to California. The alternative he puts before her is of course the eternal (I nearly said, 'infernal'!) one, of deserting his bride with a blast of trumpets. Neither you, nor Marise, nor I, can afford to let _this_ happen! Almost anything would be preferable at a crisis so delicate for you with your uncle. Especially as Marise _vows_ that, alone with her, the monster is not so formidable. In fact, she says she can account for his conduct at these times only by supposing that he does not like her, or is _in love with someone else_. "I wonder, by the way, do you know at all if he has _any_ money? My impression, when he so easily accepted your somewhat original offer, was that he had none. But he made Marise several handsome presents of jewellery, which must have cost a great deal, _if_ he paid cash! Perhaps he used his V.C. to get them on _tick_--if such a thing is possible! Marise refused, quite definitely, she tells me, to take these gifts from him. To-day, she chanced to ask Garth how he had disposed of them after her refusal. Though she put the question _most_ tactfully, even remarking that she was _sorry_ for some little abruptness when returning the jewel-cases (I don't know details!), the man _denied_ her right to ask what he had done. Marise persisted, however, in that sweet little _determined_ way she has, and Garth _at length_ flung out in reply that he had _given the things to another person_. Imagine it! Marise's _wedding_ presents!