wo. Surely you will
not let me languish of curiosity. I want to know--tell me--how did you
ever hit upon this plan of yours?"

She unbent from her rigid attitude and answered, almost as if the words
were drawn from her against her will: "After Martin, my husband
died--I--I found myself poor, quite to my astonishment, and with Dorothy
to support. Among his effects--" She paused and turned scarlet; she was
angry at herself for answering, angry at him for daring to question her
thus intimately.

"You found--" prompted Gard.

"Well--" she hesitated, and then continued boldly--"some letters
from--never mind whom. They showed me that my husband had been most
cruelly robbed and mistreated; men had traded upon his honor, and had
ruined him. Then and there I saw my way. This man--these men--had
political aspirations. Their plans were maturing. I waited. Then I
'wondered if they would care to have the matter in their opponents'
hands.' The swindle would be good newspaper matter. They replied that
they would 'mind very much.' I succeeded in getting back something of
what Martin had been cheated out of--"

He beamed approval. "And mighty clever and plucky of you. And then?"

This time the delayed explosion of her anger came. "How dare you
question me? How dare you pry into my life?"

"You dared to pry into mine, remember," he snapped.

"For a definite and established purpose," she retorted; "and let us
proceed, if you will."

Gard shifted his bulk and grasped the arms of his chair.

"As you please. You deposited with me the sum of twenty-five thousand
dollars. I personally took charge of that account, and invested it for
you. The steps of these transactions I will ask you to follow."

"Is it necessary?"

"It is. Also that now you set before me the--autographs, together with
their reproductions of every kind, on this table, and permit me to
verify the collection by the list supplied by my lawyers."

She frowned, and taking the packet from its resting place, unslipped the
band and spread out its contents.

"They are all there," she said slowly, and there was hurt pride in her
voice.

Without stopping to consult either the memoranda or the letters, he
swept the whole together, and, striding to the fireplace, consigned them
to the flames.

"The plates!" she gasped, rising and following him. "They must be
destroyed completely."

He smiled at her grimly. "I'll take care of that. And now, if you will
come to the tabl