The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1907-07-31

w nat lelIeIS 10 you IeIeT 10 ue-
manded Shirley.
1.-THE letters l wrote to him in re-
gard to my making an investment. He
advised the purchase Of certain stock
l wrote him two letters at the time,
which letters If had them now would
go a long way to clearing me OF this
charge of bribery, for they plainly
showed that l regarded the transac-
ton as a bona fide investment. Since
this trouble began / wrote to Ryder
asking him to return me these letters
so l might use them In my defense.
The only reply l got was an insolent
note from his secretary saying that
Mr.. Ryder had forgotten all about
the transaction, and in any case had
not the letters referred to-"
Couldn't you compel him to return
them?' asked Shirley.
1--WE could never get at him." inter
rupted Stott. The man is guarded as
carefully as the car"
STILL" objected Shirley, 1T is posi-
BILE that be may have lost the letters or
even never received them"
"Oh, he has them safe enough" re-
piled Stott. "A man like Ryder keeps
every scrap Of paper, with the idea
that 1t may prove useful some day.
The letters are lying somewhere in his
desk. Besides, after the Transconti-
mental decision he was heard to say
that he'd have Judge Rossmore of the
bench inside Of a year"
And 1t wasn't a vain boast-he's
done It," muttered the Judge
Shirley relapsed into silence. Her
brain was in a whirl. 1t was true.
then. This merclless man OF money,
this ogre Of monopolistic corpora tons,
this human Juggernaut had crushed her
father merely because by his honesty
he interfered with his shady business
deals! All. why had she spared him
In her book? She felt now that she
had been too lenient, not bitter enough,
not sufficiently pitiless. Such a man
was entitled to no mercy.
Long after the judge and Stott had
left for the city Shirley sat alone on
the porch engrossed in thought, taxing
her brain to find some way out of the
darkness, and when presently her
mother and aunt returned they found
her still sitting there, silent and preoc-
cupied If they only had those two
letters, she thought. They alone might
save her father, but how could they be
got at? Mr.. Ryder had put them safe
ly away, no doubt He would not give
them up. She wondered how il would
be to go boldly to him and appeal to
whatever sense OF honor and fairness
that might be lying latent within him.
No, such a man would not know what
the terms honor" fairness" meant.
She pOndered upon it all day. and at
night when she went tired TO bed 1t
was her last thought as she dropped of
to sleep.
The following morning Shirley went
out for q walk. She preferred to go
alone so she would not have to talk
Hers was one OF those lonely, intro
Spective natures that resent the intru-
don Of atmIess chatter WA0a DsoOesS-
PIED with serious thoughts.
Every now and then Shirley espied
m the distance the figure OF a man
which she thought she recognized as
that OF Jefferson. Had he come, after
all? The blood went cOursing tumultu-
ously through her veins only moment
later to leave her face a shade paler as
the man came nearer, and she saw he
was a stranger.
AS she neared the cottage on her re-
turn home, she caught sight of the let
ter carrier approaching the gate. In
StantIy she thought of Jefferson, and
she hurried to intercept the man. Per-
haps be had written instead Of coming.
Miss Shirley ROssmore?' said the
man eying her interrogatively.
That's l." said Shirley.
The postman handed her q letter and
passed on. Shirley glanced quickly at
the superscription. No, It was not from
Jefferson; she knew his handwriting
too well. The envelope, moreover, bore
the firm name Of her publishers. She
tore it open and found that 1t merely
contained another letter which the
publishers had forwarded. This was
addressed to Miss Shirley Green and
ran as follows;
Dear Madam--If convenient. / should
like to see you at my once. SO Broadway.
In relation TO your book. THE American
Octopus" Kindly inform me as to the
day and hour at which 1 may expect YOU
JOHN BURKETT RYDER
Per B.
Shirley almost shouted from sheer
excitement. At first she was alarmed
the name John Burkett Ryder was
such a DOGGY to frighten bad children
with, she thought he might want to
punish her for writing about him as
she had She hurried to the porch and
sat there reading the letter over and
over, and her brain began to evolve
ideas. She had been wondering how
she could get at Mr.. Ryder, and here
he was actually asking her TO call on
him. Evidently he had not the slight
est idea of her identity, for he had
been able to reach her only through
her publishers, and no doubt he had
exhausted every other means of dis
covering her address. The more she
pondered over It the more she began
to see In this invitation way OF help
ing her father. Yes. she would 20 and