174 make another Sunday visit to the office and examine the contents of the safe. She knew that her employer intended spending the day in the country, and that she need fear no interruption from him.Whileshehad not forgottenher former experience, and did not relish a second Sunday visit to the office, she was brave enough to undertake it. She was not likely to be disturbed, and Sunday afternoon was her only opportunity to makethe thorough searchthat wouldprobably be required. But Stella's night was not a pleasant one. She felt unaccountable reluctance to take the decisive step upon which she had resolved. Sheknew it was her duty, not merelyto herself, but to her mother and her brother and, above all, to her dead father's memory. Had she alone been concerned, she felt that she might even have let her rights go by default, rather than to do that which grew more and more distasteful as she approached it. XXVI. Stella felt strangely depressed as she climbed the stairs of the El Dorado Buildingon Sundayafternoon.Shehad not gone to church in the morning; why, shehad not asked herself;probablybecauseof some obscure incongruity betweenworship and the afternoontask to which she lookedforward. The day wasbright and glorious, an ideal autumn day; but Stella, usuallyaverybarometer in sensitivenessto atmospheric conditions, on this afternoon wasproof against sunshine and 175 cheerfulness. When she entered the hall of the building, the sight of the porter in the lobby made her feel guiltily uncomfortable , and she found herself wondering what dark speculations he might be making as to the object of her visit. On the former occasion she had mounted the stairs rapidly, and yet the time had seemed long ereshereached the top. Now,though her feet were heavy as lead, she seemed to ascend with great rapidity. The marble stairs and mosaic floors, for aught she noticed of them, might have been mildewed stone or crumbling brick; the frescoes on the wallwere mere gaudydaubs in the light, mere blurs of color in the shadows. She wasvividly conscious, took of this incongruity between her feelings and her mission. The chosen instrument to right agreat wrong, her heart should have been fired with zeal, her feet clothed with wings. On the contrary, the nearer she approached it, the more her duty seemed likemartyrdom. Shefought against this reluctance , and while combatting it successfully, the struggle was keen enough to render her supremelyuncomfortable. She unlocked and locked again behind her the office door. Shethen laid off her hat, removed her gloves,put on her office apron, which shetook from the clothes-press, thus composing herself for an afternoon's work, and at the same time deferring it as long as possible. She then attempted to open the safe. Several times she failed, but finally the combination worked and the ponderous door swung open. The hinges needed oiling, and emitted a discordant creak which seemed almost uncanny and made Stella shiver in an ecstacy of discomfort. [54.196.27.171] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 13:41 GMT) 176 The safe wasnot of the most modern design, and wasused almost solely as a repository for Truscotfs personal papers and memoranda, there being a vault in the counting-room for the company's books and the current cash. There were compartments for books, pigeon-holes for papers, and several drawers, one of which, as she had often noticed, was locked. Stella reasoned that in this drawerwould be found the papers ofwhich her father had spoken;but the book accounts and memoranda bearingupon Truscott's conduct in the matter would more likely be in the open compartments; and to these she first directed her attention. Beginning at the upper left-hand pigeon-hole, sheworked her waysystematically,through the upper horizontal tier, then taking the others in turn. Forawhileher search revealed nothingthat could throw light upon the subject of her inquiry.The contents of the safe had plainly been arranged by a person of an orderly mind. Papers of various kinds, receipts, letters, check-stubs, copies of contracts, and so forth, were filed in chronological order, and neatly tied with red tape. Stella scanned eachpaper carefully. Assoon asshe sawthat it had no bearing upon her mission, she laid it scrupulously aside; she had no desire to pry into Mr. Truscott's affairs further than they concerned her own. The afternoon wore away, and still Stella had not found what she sought. Had she chosen, she might, from the data before her, have studied the...