came down to the main hall to
greet her when she arrived and escorted her to the suite of rooms,
comprising a small working library, a bedroom simply but daintily
furnished in pink and white and a private bathroom, which had been
specially prepared for her convenience and comfort, and here
presently she was joined by Mrs. Ryder.

"Dear me," exclaimed the financier's wife, staring curiously at
Shirley, "what a young girl you are to have made such a stir with
a book! How did you do it? I'm sure I couldn't. It's as much as I
can do to write a letter, and half the time that's not legible."

"Oh, it wasn't so hard," laughed Shirley. "It was the subject that
appealed rather than any special skill of mine. The trusts and
their misdeeds are the favourite topics of the hour. The whole
country is talking about nothing else. My book came at the right
time, that's all."

Although "The American Octopus" was a direct attack on her own
husband, Mrs. Ryder secretly admired this young woman, who had
dared to speak a few blunt truths. It was a courage which, alas!
she had always lacked herself, but there was a certain satisfaction
in knowing there were women in the world not entirely cowed by the
tyrant Man.

"I have always wanted a daughter," went on Mrs. Ryder, becoming
confidential, while Shirley removed her things and made herself at
home; "girls of your age are so companionable." Then, abruptly,
she asked: "Do your parents live in New York?"

Shirley's face flushed and she stooped over her trunk to hide her
embarrassment.

"No--not at present," she answered evasively. "My mother and
father are in the country."

She was afraid that more questions of a personal nature would
follow, but apparently Mrs. Ryder was not in an inquisitive mood,
for she asked nothing further. She only said:

"I have a son, but I don't see much of him. You must meet my
Jefferson. He is such a nice boy."

Shirley tried to look unconcerned as she replied:

"I met him yesterday. Mr. Ryder introduced him to me."

"Poor lad, he has his troubles too," went on Mrs. Ryder. "He's in
love with a girl, but his father wants him to marry someone else.
They're quarrelling over it all the time."

"Parents shouldn't interfere in matters of the heart," said
Shirley decisively. "What is more serious than the choosing of a
life companion, and who are better entitled to make a free
selection than they who are going to spend the rest of their days
together? Of c