neered Mr. Bagley. "Really, Jefferson, you go too
far! Do you suppose for one instant that I would condescend to
trouble myself with your affairs?"

Jefferson was in no mood to put up with insolence from anyone,
especially from a man whom he heartily despised, so advancing
menacingly he thundered:

"I mean--were you, in the discharge of your menial-like duties,
instructed by my father to send that paragraph to the newspapers
regarding my alleged betrothal to Miss Roberts? Yes or No?"

The man winced and made a step backward. There was a gleam in the
Ryder eye which he knew by experience boded no good.

"Really, Jefferson," he said in a more conciliatory tone, "I know
absolutely nothing about the paragraph. This is the first I hear
of it. Why not ask your father?"

"I will," replied Jefferson grimly.

He was turning to go in the direction of the library when Bagley
stopped him.

"You cannot possibly see him now," he said. "Sergeant Ellison of
the Secret Service is in there with him, and your father told me
not to disturb him on any account. He has another appointment at
three o'clock with some woman who writes books."

Seeing that the fellow was in earnest, Jefferson did not insist.
He could see his father a little later or send him a message
through his mother. Proceeding upstairs he found Mrs. Ryder in her
room and in a few energetic words he explained the situation to
his mother. They had gone too far with this match-making business,
he said, his father was trying to interfere with his personal
liberty and he was going to put a stop to it. He would leave at
once for Europe. Mrs. Ryder had already heard of the projected
trip abroad, so the news of this sudden departure was not the
shock it might otherwise have been. In her heart she did not blame
her son, on the contrary she admired his spirit, and if the
temporary absence from home would make him happier, she would not
hold him back. Yet, mother like, she wept and coaxed, but nothing
would shake Jefferson in his determination and he begged his
mother to make it very plain to his father that this was final and
that a few days would see him on his way abroad. He would try and
come back to see his father that afternoon, but otherwise she was
to say good-bye for him. Mrs. Ryder promised tearfully to do what
her son demanded and a few minutes later Jefferson was on his way
to the front door.

As he went down stairs something white on the carpet attracted his