“Let me say I had grounds for suspicion,” Miss Majoribanks replied. “And then this letter from my brother. When I received it, I acted at once. I got out the ledgers and read all the information we had on the Louisiana Territory, read the reports of Lewis and Clark and the letters from James Mackay. What my brother has discovered, Mr. Tate, is a plot to seize the Louisiana Territory and to make an independent kingdom of it.” “That’s nonsense.” She shrugged. “Exactly the reaction from our senator, Mr. Tate. I approached him on the matter. He either does not believe anything I say or has reasons for not wishing to believe.” “Miss Majoribanks, you must remember, you are a very young lady.” “Mr. Tate, I have told you all this not only to give you my reasons for going west, but because I hope you will see the necessity for prompt action.” “The man who is to direct the subversive movements in the Louisiana Territory may already be en route. I know much of this man.
