"I can hardly call it a disagreement," she said. "We had a little
discussion about some of the guests who were to be invited."

"Did he object to any that were there?"

"There was a gentleman there whom he did not particularly like, I think,
but he made no objection to his coming; in fact, he seemed to feel that
I might imagine he had an objection from a little discussion we had
about inviting him; and afterwards, as if to make up for that, he placed
this guest at his left hand."

Stratton quickly glanced up the page of his notebook, and marked a
little cross before the name of Stephen Roland.

"You had another disagreement with him before, if I might term it so,
had you not?"

Mrs. Brenton looked at him surprised.

"What makes you think so?" she said.

"Because you hesitated when I spoke of it."

"Well, we had what you might call a disagreement once at Lucerne,
Switzerland."

"Will you tell me what it was about?"

"I would rather not."