you are thinking. You are disturbed by these persistent
rumors about me."

She gave a little laugh, a chuckle, in a hopeless manner.

"Yes, I am. Go on." She answered mechanically and fell back in her
chair.

"You need not be disturbed. They are groundless, I tell you. Simply
engendered by spite. And I blame partly the Papist Whigs. Damn 'em."

"It isn't that alone."

"That is some of it. The origin of the hostility to me was the closing
of the shops for a week under an order direct from Washington himself,
and a resolution of the Congress. Yet I was blamed. The next incident
pounced upon by them was my use of the government wagons in moving
stores. As you know I had this done to revictual and supply the army.
But I permitted the empty wagons to bring back stores from the direction
of New York and was charged with being in communication with the enemy."

"Which would be more praiseworthy."

He paid no attention to her remark but continued:

"I was honest in supposing the goods to be bonafide household goods
belonging to non-combatants. As a matter of fact some of the decorations
at our wedding were obtained in this manner. What followed? A public
complaint."

"I know."

"Then that scheming interloper Matlack! You know of him?"

"I think so."

"You've heard of his father, of course!"

"No."

"The Secretary to Reed, the President of the Council? Timothy Matlack?
His social aspirations were somewhat curtailed by my interest in public
affairs. He has borne me in mind and evidently intends my ruin."

"In that he differs not from many other so-called friends."

"I did all in my power to soothe his ruffled feelings in a long,
considerate letter in answer to his note of grievance. Only later I
learned that it was his son whose haughty nature had been offended."

"You were no party to the offense. In fact you knew naught of it until
the episode had been concluded."

"True, but Franks had taken part in it, and Franks was my head
aide-de-camp. It was trivial. He wanted a barber and sent young Matlack
who was doing sentry duty at the door to fetch one. Naturally I defended
his action in my letter of reply."

"I tell you, they do not want you here. Can't you sense that? Else these
charges would never have been uttered. They are mere pretexts. They are
weary of you and desire your resignation."

She talked rapidly, violently. Her face assumed a stern expression.

He did not reply but peered into the distan