We excused ourselves from Doctor Scott, wondering what Page had to reveal.

“I knew Sandoval had not returned,” he began as soon as we were out of ear-shot of the doctor, “and I don’t want to see him—­ again—­not after what happened this afternoon.  The man is crazy.”  We had reached an alcove and sank down into a soft settee.

“Why, what was that?” I asked, recalling the look of hate on the man’s face as he had watched Page talking to Anitra in the tea-room.

“I’m giving you this for what it may be worth,” began Page, turning from me to Kennedy.  “Down in the lobby this afternoon, after you had been gone some time, I happened to run into Sandoval.  He almost seized hold of me.  ’You have been at the office,’ he said.  ‘You’ve been rummaging around there.’  Well, I denied it flatly.  ‘Who took those letters?’ he shot back at me.  All I could do was to look at him.  ’I don’t know about any letters.  What letters?’ I asked.  Oh, he’s a queer fellow all right.  I thought he was going to kill me by the black look he gave me.  He cooled down a bit, but I didn’t wait for any apology.  The best thing to do with these hot-headed people is to cut out and let them alone.”

“How do you account for his strange actions?” asked Kennedy.  “Have you ever heard anything more that he did?”

Page shrugged his shoulders as if in doubt whether to say anything, then decided quickly.  “The other day I heard Barrios and Sandoval in the office.  They were quite excited.  Barrios was talking loudly.  I didn’t know at first what it was all about.  But I soon found out.  Sandoval had gone to him, as the head of the family, following their custom, I believe, to ask whether he might seek to win Anitra.”

“Have you ever heard of Teresa de Leon?” interrupted Kennedy suddenly.

Page looked at him and hesitated.  “There’s some scandal, there, I’m afraid,” he nodded, combining his answers.  “I heard Sandoval say something about her to Barrios that day—­warn him against something.  That was when the argument was heated.  It seemed to make Barrios angry.  Sandoval said something about Barrios refusing to let him court Anitra while at the same time Barrios was engaged to Eulalie.  Barrios retorted that the cases were different.  He said he had decided that Anitra was going to marry an American millionaire.”

There could be no doubt about how Page himself interpreted the remark.  It was evident that he took it to mean himself.

“Sandoval had warned against this De Leon?” asked Kennedy, evidently having in mind the anonymous telegram.

“Something—­I don’t know what it was all about,” returned Page, then added, in a burst of confidence:  “I never heard of the lady until she came to New York and introduced herself to me.  For a time she was interesting.  But I’m too old for that sort of thing.  Besides, she always impressed me as though she had some ulterior motive, as though she was trying to get at something through me.  I cut it all out.”