had ruined her own father?  The idea was preposterous, and hard as the sacrifice would be, Jefferson must be made to see it in that light.  Their engagement was the greatest folly; it bound each of them when nothing but unhappiness could possibly come of it.  She was sure now that she loved Jefferson.  It would be hard to give him up, but there are times and circumstances when duty and principle must prevail over all other considerations, and this she felt was one of them.

The following morning she received a letter from Stott.  He was delighted to hear the good news regarding her important discovery, and he urged her to lose no time in securing the letters and forwarding them to Massapequa, when he would immediately go to Washington and lay them before the Senate.  Documentary evidence of that conclusive nature, he went on to say, would prove of the very highest value in clearing her father’s name.  He added that the judge and her mother were as well as circumstances would permit, and that they were not in the least worried about her protracted absence.  Her Aunt Milly had already returned to Europe, and Eudoxia was still threatening to leave daily.

Shirley needed no urging.  She quite realized the importance of acting quickly, but it was not easy to get at the letters.  The library was usually kept locked when the great man was away, and on the few occasions when access to it was possible, the lynx-eyed Mr. Bagley was always on guard.  Short as had been her stay in the Ryder household, Shirley already shared Jefferson’s antipathy to the English secretary, whose manner grew more supercilious and overbearing as he drew nearer the date when he expected to run off with one of the richest catches of the season.  He had not sought the acquaintance of his employer’s biographer since her arrival, and, with the exception of a rude stare, had not deigned to notice her, which attitude of haughty indifference was all the more remarkable in view of the fact that the Hon. Fitzroy usually left nothing unturned to cultivate a flirtatious intimacy with every attractive female he met.  The truth was that what with Mr. Ryder’s demands upon his services and his own preparations for his coming matrimonial venture, in which he had so much at stake, he had neither time nor inclination to indulge his customary amorous diversions.

Miss Roberts had called at the house several times, ostensibly to see Mrs. Ryder, and when introduced to Shirley she had condescended to give the latter a supercilious nod.  Her conversation was generally of the silly, vacuous sort, concerning chiefly new dresses or bonnets, and Shirley at once read her character—­frivolous, amusement-loving, empty-headed, irresponsible—­just the kind of girl to do something foolish without weighing the consequences.  After chatting a few moments with Mrs. Ryder she would usually vanish, and one day, after one of these mysterious disappearances, Shirley happened to pass the library and caught sight of her and Mr. Bagley conversing in subdued and eager tones.  It was very evident that the elopement scheme was fast maturing.  If the scandal was to be prevented, Jefferson ought to see his father and acquaint him with the facts without delay.  It was probable that at the same time he would make an effort to secure the letters.  Meantime she must be patient.  Too much hurry might spoil everything.