The General seized her hand as he took his leave.
“If you do, my child, you will destroy an empire mightier than the law of the land. I’ll place the entire resources of the Department of Justice at your command.”
Stella’s brown eyes rested on her own beautiful reflection in the mirror as she slowly said:
“Thank you, General, I have at present all the weapons I shall need.”
CHAPTER II—WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING
STELLA was putting the last touches to a perfect toilet before meeting Steve Hoyle who was waiting impatiently below. She had given him the sign for which he had long prayed, her permission for the formal renewal of his suit. They had remained friends on condition that he keep silent on the subject until she gave him permission to speak. She had done this in the most delicate way in the note of reply she had sent in the afternoon to his request for permission to call.
She had determined to take Steve by storm to-night. The secret on which her heart was set she counted already within her grasp, yet she would leave no stone unturned, neglect no trick in all the known realm of woman’s art to make her victory absolute.
Her refusal to put on black at her father’s funeral, or wear it since, and her declaration that his death was not the act of God but of the devil, had shocked the tradition-loving Southern people beyond measure. Maggie had lost no time in telling her their comments. She heard them with contempt and proceeded to shock her critics still worse by establishing herself permanently in the great lonely house with only Aunt Julie Ann as her guardian.