Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-11-27


der Eulr.rtS hctru;ial. and lie did not
take the matter So calmly as Shirley
lad done pn the contrary. il had the
effect of putting him into violent
rage. This Wa; Jefferson. He wa
working In his studio when lie read II
and five minutes later he WAS tearing
uptown to seek the author of it. He
understood lis object of course. They
wanted L. fore. III hand. 70 shame
him into this marriage. to 50 entanglo
him with the Girl that no other alter
native would bc possible 10 an honora
bic man. 1t Was Il dcspiCable trick
and be had no doubt that his father
was at the back OF 1t. So his mind
how was fully made W. lie would 20
away at once where they could not
make his life burden with this odious
marriage which was fast becoming a
nightmare to him. He would close III
his studio and leave Immediately for
Europe. lie would show his father
once for all that he was man and ex
pected to he treated as one
On arriving home the first person he
| saw was the ubiquitous Mr.. Bagley
who stood ut the top of the first stair
case giving some letters to the butler
Jefferson cornercd him ut once. hold
Ing out the newspaper containing the
offending paragraph.
Say, Bagley." he cried, what does
this mean? Is this any Of your doingT
The English secretary gave his EN-
ployer's son naughty stare and then
without deigning to reply or even to
glance at the newspaper. continued his
| instructions to the servant:
Here, JOrkins, get stamps for all
these letters and see they are mailed al
once. They are very important"
| Every good, sir"
The man took the letters and disap
peared. while jefferson. impatient, re
peated his question:
MY dOing?" sneered Mr. Bagley
"Really. Jefferson, you go too far. Dc
you suppose for one instant that
would condescend - trouble myself
with your a6ai1s?
| Jefferson was in no mood to put VI
with insOlence from any one, especial
! ly from a man whom he heartily de
| spiSed, SO, advancing menacingly, b,
thundered:
| Il mean-were you in the discharge
| Of your menial-like duties instructed
| by my father to send that paragraph
to the newspapers regarding my alleg
! ed betrOthal to Miss Roberts? Yes Of
nOY'
The man WINGED and made steI
backward. There was CLEAN In thu
Ryder eye which he knew by expert
ence BODIED no good.
| Really. Jefferson" he said in NOR,
conciliatory tone, II know absolutely
nothing about the paragraph. This /.
the first 1 hear Of it. Why not asl
your fatherT'
II WILL" replied Jefferson grimly.
He was turning to go in the direc
ton Of the library when Bagley stop
ped him.
You cannot possibly see him now,
he said. Sergeant Ellison Of the sc
cret service Is in there with him. ant
your father told me not to disturb hin
on any account. He has another mp
pointment Mt 3 o'clock with some wo
man who writes books"
Seeing that the fellow was in ear
nest, Jefferson did not resist. He coult
see his father little later or send hin
a message through his mother. Pro
ceeding upstairs, he found Mrs. Ryde
in her room, and in few energeti
words he explained the situation t
his mother. They had gone too IA
with this matchmaking business. h
said: his father was trying to inter
fere with his personal liberty. and b
was going to put stop to 1t. IL
would leave at once for Europe. Mrs
Ryder had already heard Of the project
ed trip abroad, SO the news Of thi
sudden departure was not the shoe
1t might otherwise have been.
As Jefferson went downstairs some
thing white on the carpet attracted hi
attention. He stopped and picked
up. 1t was letter. 1t was In Bagley'
handwriting and had evidently bee
dropped by the man to whom the sex
rotary had given It to post But wha
interested Jefferson more than any
thing else was that 1t was addresse
to Miss Kate Roberts. Under ordinar
circumstances a kings ransom wOul
not have tempted the young man t
read letter addressed to another. bu
he was convinced that his fathers se(
rotary was an adventurer, and II b
were carrying on an intrigue In thi
manner 1t could have only one NEAR
ing. 1t was his duty to unveil rasca
who was using the Ryder roof an
name to further his own ends and viz
timize a girl who. although sophist
Gated enough to know better, was to
silly to realize the risk she ran at tn
hands CT an INSCRIPTIONS man. Hes
tating no longer, Jefferson tore ope
the envelope and read:
. My Dearest Wife That Is to Bel hav
arranged everything Next Wednesday.
Just q week from tOday-we will go to tn
house Of a discreet friend Of mine wher
minister will marry us. Then we wi
go to city hall and get through the legs
part Of 1t. Afterward We can catch I'll
o'clock train for Buffalo. Meet me 1
the ladies' room at the Holland Hous
Wednesday morning at II a. H. / wi
come there with a closed cab. Your d,
voted FITZ.
"Pheww Jefferson whistled. A clos
shave this for Senator Roberts, b
1862 1TfFii m
Il 7 So