Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-12-02


this unknown friendF
surely you can guess when / ssy I
the most powerful man in the United /
States? None other than John Burkett !
Ryder
She stopped short to watch the effect /
this name would have on her hearers.
But to her surprise neither her father
nor stott displayed the slightest emo
ton or even interest. Puzzled at this
cold reception. she repeated:
Did you hear. father-John Burkett
RYDER viii come TO your assistance. |
came home on the same ship as MS
son, and he promised to secure bis IA
TIERS ED"
The judge puffed heavily 1T his pipe
and merely shook his head. making no
reply Stott explained:
I'VE can't look for help from that
quarter. Shirley. You don't expect a
man to cut loose his own kite, Go your
What do you mean" demanded
Shirley. mystifed
simply this, that John Burkett Ry-
der is the very man who is responsible
for all your fathers misfortunes."
The girl sank back in her seat pale
ana motionless. as If she had received
q blow. Was it possible?
"Do you really believe this, that John
Ryder deliberately concocted the brib-
cry charge with the sole purpose of
running my fatherE" demanded Shirley,
when she had somewhat recovered.
There is no other solution of the
4nt+
"And you. father, do you believe Ry-
der did this?"
II have no longer any doubt of it."
answered the judge. Il think John
Ryder would see me dead before he
would raise a finger to help me. His
answer to my demand for my letters
convinced me that he was the arch
plotter."
what letters do you refer to-" de-
manded Shirley.
"The letters l wrote to him in re-
gard to my making an investment. He
advised the purchase of certain stock.
/ wrote him two letters at the time,
which letters if / had them now would
go long way to clearing me Of this
charge of bribery. for they plainly
showed that | regarded the transac-
ton as a bona fide investment. Since
this trouble began l wrote to Ryder
asking him to return me these letters
so / 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 l referred to-"
Couldn't you compel him to return
them? asked Shirley.
1--WE could never get at him." inter-
rupted Stott 1.-THE man is guarded as
carefully as the car
STILL" objected Shirley, sit is posi-
BILE that he 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 it 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 off tht
bench inside of year.
"And it wasn't a vain boast-he':
done it," muttered the judge.
Shirley relapsed into silence. He
brain was in a whirl. 1t was true
then. This merciless man of money
, this ogre of monopolistic corporations
: this human juggernaut had crushed he
} father merely because by his honest.
l he interfered with his shady business
} deals! All, why had she spared hin
: in her book? She felt now that sh
D had been too lenient, not bitter enough
$ not sufficiently pitiless Such a NAL
:. was entitled to no mercy.
j Long after the judge and Stott la,
:. left for the city Shirley sat alone o.
the porch engrossed in thought. taxin
e her brain to find some way out of tt
( darkness, and when presently he
? mother and aunt returned they foun
her still sitting there, silent and preoC
d cupied. If they only had those tw
s letters, she thought. They alone Nigh
W rave her father, but how could they b
r got at? Mr. Ryder had put them safe
It ~ away. no doubt. He would not Civ
II them up. She wondered how it woul
d be to go boldly to him and appeal t
y whatever sense of honor and fairnes
4 that might be lying latent within hin
IS No. such n man would not know wha
re the terms Honor" fairness" mean
y. She pondered upon it all day, and 6
in night when she went tired to bed
N was her last thought as she dropped o
to to sleep
The following morning Shirley wer
IT out for a walk. She. preferred to {
~ alone so she would not have to tai
'e Hers was one of those lonely. intr
lie spective natures that resent the intr
= sion of aimless chatter when preocc
pied with serious thoughts.
Every now and then Shirley espi
- I'm the distance the figure of a mi
= which she thought she recognized
that Of Jefferson. Had he come, aft
h. all? The blood went coursing tumuli
:. Ously through her veins only a nome