From the contents of the box, one would have thought the man possessed of a mania for preserving such things, a thought in which Leonie would have concurred before she had completed her self-imposed task.
There were letters from confederates, letters from friends, letters from his mother, a few from Liz, and underneath, as though those were the things that he wanted to preserve most, she found another box of paper.
She opened it eagerly.
Passing over the smaller papers, she opened a letter, addressed in the stylish penmanship which she knew belonged to Miss Chandler.
Breathlessly she read:
"Sir,—I have just read your letter delivered by special messenger. The surprise to me has been so painful that I scarcely know what I ought to say; but if you will meet me to-night at the address that I shall append, I will have thought the matter over. I understand but too clearly your reason for coming forward to claim the child whom you deserted in her infancy, because you know that now I am the adopted daughter of a wealthy man who knows nothing of the disgrace that the penitentiary attached to my parents, and you think that I shall be only too willing to purchase your silence at any cost. Perhaps you are right. We shall see. At all events, meet me as I have indicated, and if you have any regard for your own child whatever, be careful that this letter does not fall into the hands of any one.
"Yours regretfully,
"E. C."
With a thrill of satisfaction Leonie laid the letter aside, apart from the others that had been rejected, and took up another.
A single paragraph from it read:
"You have made me a thief. Were you not a fiend your conscience would burn you to death for so foul a thing, but instead you are going to force me into the cell of a convict, the same, perhaps, that held both you and my mother. I am half inclined to believe that Leonard Chandler already suspects me. Should he find his suspicions to be true, there is nothing upon this earth that could save me. Your revenue would cease. I know that it would be useless to plead with your sympathy for me, but for your own sake let your demands at least be within reason."
Then again: