to ask you for mercy--for mercy to--"

She stopped and glanced nervously at him, but she saw he was
paying no attention to what she was saying. He was puffing heavily
at his cigar, entirely preoccupied with his own thoughts. Her
sudden silence aroused him. He apologized:

"Oh, excuse me--I didn't quite catch what you were saying."

She said nothing, wondering what had happened to render him so
absent-minded. He read the question in her face, for, turning
towards her, he exclaimed:

"For the first time in my life I am face to face with
defeat--defeat of the most ignominious kind--incapacity--inability
to regulate my own internal affairs. I can rule a government, but
I can't manage my own family--my own son. I'm a failure. Tell me,"
he added, appealing to her, "why can't I rule my own household,
why can't I govern my own child?"

"Why can't you govern yourself?" said Shirley quietly.

Ryder looked keenly at her for a moment without answering her
question; then, as if prompted by a sudden inspiration, he said:

"You can help me, but not by preaching at me. This is the first
time in my life I ever called on a living soul for help. I'm only
accustomed to deal with men. This time there's a woman in the
case--and I need your woman's wit--"

"How can I help you?" asked Shirley.

"I don't know," he answered with suppressed excitement. "As I
told you, I am up against a blank wall. I can't see my way." He
gave a nervous little laugh and went on: "God! I'm ashamed of
myself--ashamed! Did you ever read the fable of the Lion and the
Mouse? Well, I want you to gnaw with your sharp woman's teeth at
the cords which bind the son of John Burkett Ryder to this
Rossmore woman. I want you to be the mouse--to set me free of
this disgraceful entanglement."

"How?" asked Shirley calmly.

"Ah, that's just it--how?" he replied. "Can't you think--you're a
woman--you have youth, beauty--brains." He stopped and eyed her
closely until she reddened from the embarrassing scrutiny. Then he
blurted out: "By George! marry him yourself--force him to let go
of this other woman! Why not? Come, what do you say?"

This unexpected suggestion came upon Shirley with all the force of
a violent shock. She immediately saw the falseness of her
position. This man was asking for her hand for his son under the
impression that she was another woman. It would be dishonorable of
her to keep up the deception any longer. She passed her hand over
her face to