Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-12-25

"a .,..s NOW Dr..-il' 'r. AMI IT, sill
S ate lad LryH iu s,.--.o.4 ."r over
week jefferson hal l.It tnr-
gotten lis promise, a.l ouc day.
about tv-p weeks after NJ. Il; elc,' ;
Spectacular dismissal fna1 the Ryder
re- .Icu-r. ice had brought Shirley the
Two letters She jill i.nt ak h:a bow
he got them. if IL forced tn Acaw". or
procured the ky. Il sG.Iit'l tor her
that the precious lc.tlr;, tie absolute
proof e A"r fathers i., 'rercc, We're az
last ia l,r possession. She ~ once
s,rt them III ~ registered nall 10
Stott. wi, immediately Acknowledged
receipt aui 1T IL" same tIAe an
no.nccd his departure for Washington
that night. He promised + keep her
constantly Informed of what he was
doing and how her fathers case was
going. II could. be thought. be only
matter of a few days now before the
result of the proceedings would be
known.
The approach of the crisis made Shir-
lr, exceedingly nervous, and II was
only by the exercise of the greatest
self control that she did not hctray the
terrible anxiety She felt. The Ryder
biography was nearly finished. and her
stay in Scventyfourth street would
soon come to an end. She had Scri-
Gus talk with jefferson, who contrivcd
to see good deal Of her, entirely I'M
suspected by his parents, for Mr.. and
Mrs. Ryder had no reason to believe
lhat their son had any more than a
mere bowling acquaintance With the
clever young authoress. Now that Mr..
Hagley was no longer there to spy
upon their actions these clandestine in
terviews had been comparatively easy.
Shirley brought to bear all the argu-
ments she could think Of to convince
Jefferson Of the hOpelessness Of their
engagement. She insisted that she
could never be his wife; circumstances
over which they had no control made
that dream impossible. 1t were better,
she said, to part now rather than incur
the risk Of being unhappy later But
Jefferson refused to be convinced. He
argued and pleaded, and he even swore
strange, desperate words that Shirley
had never heard before and which
ala med her not little-and the dis
cussion ended usually by kiss which
put Shirley completely hors de combat.
Meantime, John Ryder had not
ceased worrying about his son. The
removal Of Kate Roberts as a factor In
his future had not eliminated the
danger Of Jefferson taking the bit be-
tween his teeth one day and contract
ing secret marriage with the daugh-
ter of his enemy, and when he thought
of the mere possibility of such thing
happening he stormed and raved until
his wife, accustomed as she was to his
choleric OutburstS, was thoroughly
frightened. For some time after Bag
ley's departure, father and son got
along together fairly amicably, but Ry-
der senior was quick to see that JEFF
ferson had something on his mind
which was worrying him, and he
rightly attributed it to his infatuation
for Miss Rossmore. He was convinced
that his son knew where the judges
daughter was, although his own efforts
to discover her whereabouts had been
unsuccessful.
Sergeant Ellison had confessed abso-
lutte failure. Miss Rossmore, he report
ed, had disappeared as completely as
II the earth had swallowed her, and
further search was futile. Knowing
we'll his sons impulsive, headstrong
disposition. Ryder senior believed him
quite capable Of marrying the girl Sc
cretly any time. The only thing that
John Ryder did not know was that
Shirley Rossmore was not the kind of
q girl to allow any man to inveigle
her into secret marriage. The Colos-
sus, who judged the worlds morals by
his own, was not, Of course, aware of
this, and he worried night and day
thinking what he could do to prevent
his son from marrying the daughter of
the man he had wronged.
The more he pOndered over 1t the
more he regretted that there was not
some other girl with whom Jefferson
could fall in love and marry. He need
not seek rich girl-there was certain
ly enough money In the Ryder family
to provide for both. He wished they
knew a girl, for example, as attractive
and clever as Miss Green. All, he
thought, there was q girl who would
make a man Of Jefferson-brainy, am
bilious, active! And the more he
thought Of 1t the more the idea grew
on him that Miss Green would be an
ideal daughter-in-law and at the same
time snatch his son from the clutches
Of the ROSsmOre woman.
Jefferson during all these weeks was
growing more and more impatient He
knew that any day now Shirley might
take her departure from their house
and return to Massapequa. II the i'm
parchment proceedings went against
her father 1t was more than likely that
he would lose her forever, and If, on
the contrary. the judge were acquitted
Shirley never would he willing to mar
ry him without his fathers consent
and this, he felt, he would never OBJ
tain. He resolved therefore to have q
final interview with his father and
declare boldly his intention Of making
Miss Rossmore his wife regardless OF
the consequences.
The opportunity came one evening
after dinner Ryder senior was sitting