The moment he was out of the house, and had placed himself beyond the possibility of immediate return, the lady called her servant, and told him that she should be at home to nobody during the day.  No one was to be admitted but Mr. Belcher, on any errand whatsoever.

Then she went to her room, and looked the little book over at her leisure.  There was no doubt about the business skill and method of the man who had made every entry.  There was no doubt in her own mind that it was a private book, which no eye but that of its owner had ever seen, before it had been opened to her.

She hesitated upon the point of honor as to what she would do with it.  It would be treachery to copy it, but it would be treachery simply against a traitor.  She did not understand its legal importance, yet she knew it contained the most valuable information.  It showed, in unmistakable figures, the extent to which Benedict had been wronged.  Perfectly sure that it was a record of the results of fraud against a helpless man and a boy in whom her heart was profoundly interested, her hesitation was brief.  She locked her door, gathered her writing materials, and, by an hour’s careful and rapid work, copied every word of it.

After completing the copy, she went over it again and again, verifying every word and figure.  When she had repeated the process to her entire satisfaction, and even to weariness, she took her pen, and after writing:  “This is a true copy of the records of a book this day lent to me by Robert Belcher,” she affixed the date and signed her name.

Then she carefully wrapped Mr. Belcher’s book in a sheet of scented paper, wrote his name and the number and street of his residence upon it, and placed it in her pocket.  The copy was consigned to a drawer and locked in, to be recalled and re-perused at pleasure.

She understood the General’s motives in placing these records and figures in her hands.  The leading one, of course, related to his standing with her.  He wanted her to know how rich he was, how prudent he was, how invincible he was.  He wanted her to stand firm in her belief in him, whatever rumors might be afloat upon the street.  Beyond this, though he had made no allusion to it, she knew that he wanted the use of her tongue among his friends and enemies alike.  She was a talking woman, and it was easy for her, who had been so much at home in the General’s family, to strengthen his reputation wherever she might touch the public.  He wanted somebody to know what his real resources were—­somebody who could, from personal knowledge of his affairs, assert their soundness without revealing their details.  He believed that Mrs. Dillingham would be so proud of the possession of his confidence, and so prudent in showing it, that his general business reputation, and his reputation for great wealth, would be materially strengthened by her.  All this she understood, because she knew the nature of the man, and appreciated the estimate which he placed upon her.