The Governors | Page 9

had been
wrong. Then, with a sudden wave of shame, she remembered the
joyous, affectionate letters which every post brought her from the home,
which notwithstanding all her sufferings, she had loved so dearly. She
looked down at the pearls which hung from her neck. She saw herself
in her spotless muslin gown. She felt the touch of laces and silk, all the
nameless effect of this environment of luxury thrilled in her blood. It
was better, she decided, that she did not think of the future at all. It was
better that she should nurse the gratitude which she most assuredly felt.
The dinner-party that night consisted of men only, and although the
conversation was fairly general, even Virginia had a suspicion that
these men had not been brought together absolutely as ordinary guests
for social purposes. Lightly though they all talked, there was something
in the background. More than once the voices were lowered, allusions
were made which she failed to understand, and half-doubting glances
were thrown in her direction. One of these her uncle appeared to notice,
and, leaning a little forward in his chair, he said a few words to the man
at his side in such a way that they were obviously intended for the
information of all.
"My niece," he said, "is going to take the part which I had once hoped
my daughter might fill. If the occasion arises, you can speak of any
matter of business in which we may be interested, before her. It is
necessary," he continued, after a slight pause, "that there should be
some one in my household who is above suspicion, I might almost say,
above temptation. My niece will hold that post."
Then they all looked at her, and Virginia was a little frightened. It did
not seem to her necessary, however, to say anything. Two of the men
she met for the first time, but all were known to her by sight. There was
Stephen Weiss, the head of a great trust, long, lean, with inscrutable
face, and eyes hidden behind thick spectacles; Higgins, who virtually
controlled a great railway system; Littleson and Bardsley, millionaires

both, and politicians. It was a gathering of men of almost limitless
power; men who, according to some of the papers, lived with their
hands upon their country's throat. Littleson leaned over and spoke to
her not unkindly.
"I am sure," he said, "that your uncle has made a wise choice. There are
some secrets too great to be in one man's charge alone, and besides--"
Phineas Duge lifted his hand.
"Never mind the rest," he said. "I have not explained those
circumstances as yet to my niece. If you are quite ready, we will take
our coffee in the library." He turned to Virginia, who had risen at once
to leave them. "In an hour and a half exactly, Virginia," he said, "come
into the library. Not before."
She glanced at her watch and made a note of the hour. Then she
wandered off to one of the smaller drawing-rooms, and, to relieve a
certain strain of which she was somehow conscious, she played the
piano softly. In the middle of a nocturne of Chopin's the door was
opened, and a young man was shown into the room.
"I beg your pardon," he said, "you are Miss Longworth?"
She rose at once from the piano seat. He was not dressed for the
evening, and he carried a felt hat in his hand. Nevertheless his bearing
was pleasant enough, and he seemed to her a gentleman.
"I am Miss Longworth," she answered. "You want to see my uncle, I
suppose? They have made a mistake in showing you in here."
"Not at all," he answered, with an ingratiating smile. "I know that your
uncle is very busy, so I took the liberty of asking to see you. It is such a
simple matter I required, that it was not worth while interrupting him.
My name is Carr, and I am on the World. There was just an ordinary
question or two I was going to put to your uncle, but you can answer
them just as well if you will."

"You mean you are a reporter?" she asked.
"That's it," he assented. "Odd sort of life in a way, because it sends us
round seeking sometimes for the most trivial information. For instance,
your uncle had a dinner-party to-night, and I have stepped round for a
list of the guests."
"I do not see," she answered slowly, "what possible concern that can be
of your paper's."
He smiled indulgently.
"Ah, Miss Longworth!" he said, "you have just come from the country,
I believe. You do not understand the way we do things in New York.
Your uncle is a famous man, and