The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-04-21
CHAPTER M.

@lHE black curtained limousine,
its bit of hlmy gauze huttering
at the door and Bill Wolf hold
- ing on to the spare tires for
dear life, swept from the road down
into the long private drive to a beauti-
full residence overlooking the river. and
Bill Wolf, with a long sigh of relief,
prepared to unbend at last from his
stiffening position. The car. however,
never slackened. AS it dashed past the
porte-cochere its pale faced Italian
driver bent and looked at his clock and
swept around ON the other side of the
long curve just as the family car of the
Moores whirled into the drive. The
handsome collie yelped as he recog
nized the familiar spot, and the five
people in the family car looked at each
other in perpleXity as Jerry curved
round back to the road How pecul-
lar! The black curtained limousine
was apparently heading into the city
again, and curved limpness came into
the broad back of faithful Bill Wolf.
In the ornately decorated parlor Mrs.
Russell served the cocktails and start
ed upstairs with June's. They stopped
ner at the port1ereS.
"She's not to be disturbed" they all
told her in their different forms of
speech.
June Warner had fed far away from
that section, hurrying on and on as
If she could not put enough distance
between herself and that hateful scene.
She was in the more densely populat-
ed district now. on a street of cheap
shops and rickety tenements, and the
fourth or fifth pawnshop which she
passed gave her a happy idea. She
looked in at the next one. 1t was re-
pulsive looking. She remembered a
cleaner one which she had passed and
went back to it. She hesitated mo
ment, then went boldly in.
There she found pudgy, bowlegged
little man.
as it anything 1 can do, miss?" he
asked her.
How much will you give me for
this, pleaseT' and from her hair she
took an exquisitely carved tortoise
shell comb studded with blue stones.
The pudgy little man glanced at it
indifferently.
Half a dollar, maybe"
"Ohp And June picked up the comb
in dismay. why, these are real sap
phires. The comb COST
Excuse me-" The pudgy little man
grabbed the comb from her hand and
trotted nimbly to the window, screw
ing jewelers. glass in his bullying eye
as he went. ''Oh, So, maybe!'
why, the comb COST
Sorry, lady," and rubbing his pudgy
hands together, he smiled ingratiating-
ly at her. but by the time you dig
them little stones and sell them you
waste so much labor that if I'd give
you $S.25 I'd lose money. maybe"
June slowly picked up the comb. She
was outside the door before he called
her back.
Waltz He smiled overwhelmingly at
her. "You need the money, ladyT'
VERY much, fear" she confessed.
'And would you give me your prom
ise that you take up the loan some
time, with the INTEREST,""
"Oh, yesr' This very eagerly. THE
comb Is keepsake"
The pudgy little man sighed. and his
face was full of sympathy.
Then l give you $3.50"
She gathered up the money with q
sickening sense of humiliation and took
the ticket he gave her and walked out,
feeling that she had been badly worst
ed, because she had no heart for this
sort of bartering. 1t dawned upon her
| that there were worse humiliations
than accepting money from ones hus-
band, and yet She conquered the
weakness which sprang fiercely up In
her. which made her heart cry in an.
guish for Ned. which made her long to
desert all this hideous struggle and fly
to his sheltering arms. No; she must
fight to the end!
But what was she to do next? A
sign at the foot of dark, narrow stair.
way caught her eye:
Girls Wanted to Sew Pants"
| Labor. Honest toll. Slight as might
be the pay, was it not better, after all
than the occupations in which she had
suffered SO much? Timorously June
climbed the stairs, stopping at the first
landing for q recurrence of that slight
cough which had come upon her.
An impossibly dirty man stood be
hind long table on which We're piled
huge bundles tied in rough paper.
"WelI?' he said gruffiy.
81 would like to sew some pants, II
you please" said June modestly.
"What?" The man looked at her
astounded. "You want to sew pants ?
Eyes, SIR returned June.
The man shrugged his shoulders.
You go over to that woman there
and she'll show you what's to be done
and how much deposit to pay" He in
dicated another table.
When June went down the narrow
stairs she carried as heavy a bundle
as she could conveniently lift, and hel
scanty store of money was reduced Il
very small margin. Little as it was
however, she had yet to make a pur
chase. In the first little store she
bought an inexpensive little plain blacI
dress. She had less than dollar wheI
she stopped before building to which
she had been directed. On the door
post of the stairway was a sign
Rooms to Let"
June here engaged mean little hall
bedroom from dumpy landlady.
Down Broadway tore the black cur
tanned limousine, the observed of al