e other men as good as the one who had jilted
her. He argued that in view of the Senator being bent on the match
with Ryder's son it would be worse than useless for him, Bagley,
to make formal application for her hand, so, as he explained, the
only thing which remained was a runaway marriage. Confronted with
the _fait accompli_, papa Roberts would bow to the inevitable.
They could get married quietly in town, go away for a short trip,
and when the Senator had gotten over his first disappointment they
would be welcomed back with open arms.

Kate listened willingly enough to this specious reasoning. In her
heart she was piqued at Jefferson's indifference and she was
foolish enough to really believe that this marriage with a British
nobleman, twice removed, would be in the nature of a triumph over
him. Besides, this project of an elopement appealed strangely to
her frivolous imagination; it put her in the same class as all her
favourite novel heroines. And it would be capital fun!

Meantime, Senator Roberts, in blissful ignorance of this little
plot against his domestic peace, was growing impatient and he
approached his friend Ryder once more on the subject of his son
Jefferson. The young man, he said, had been back from Europe some
time. He insisted on knowing what his attitude was towards his
daughter. If they were engaged to be married he said there should
be a public announcement of the fact. It was unfair to him and a
slight to his daughter to let matters hang fire in this
unsatisfactory way and he hinted that both himself and his
daughter might demand their passports from the Ryder mansion
unless some explanation were forthcoming.

Ryder was in a quandary. He had no wish to quarrel with his useful
Washington ally; he recognized the reasonableness of his
complaint. Yet what could he do? Much as he himself desired the
marriage, his son was obstinate and showed little inclination to
settle down. He even hinted at attractions in another quarter. He
did not tell the Senator of his recent interview with his son when
the latter made it very plain that the marriage could never take
place. Ryder, Sr., had his own reasons for wishing to temporize.
It was quite possible that Jefferson might change his mind and
abandon his idea of going abroad and he suggested to the Senator
that perhaps if he, the Senator, made the engagement public
through the newspapers it might have the salutary effect of
forcing his son's hand.

So a