New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-08-01

letter of resignation from Reben's en-
plOy. 1t was not easy to resign with
dignity and the necessary haste.
She sent ii off by messenger. 1t was
none too prompt, for Reben had al
ready dictated a very polite request
for Daphne's head. When he received
her letter he recalled his stenOgrapher
and dictated a substitute for his first
letter. In this he expressed his regret
at learning Daphne's decision to re-
sign; the former understudy had come
back from the road, he said, and would
resume her work. He begged Daphne
to accept the inclOsed check for two
weeks salary in lieu of the usual no.
tice, and hoped that she would believe
him faithfully hers.
Daphne felt a proud impulse to re-
turn the fifty dollars. She wrote a
letter to go with it. She looked again,
and saw it was the first money she had
ever earned. She hated to let it go.
She decided TO frame il and keep 1t to
point to in after years as the begin
ming of her great fortune.
Late in the afternoon, when the
western sky was turning into Il loom
for crimson tapestries almost rs rich
as her W dreams, she went to her
brothers apartment.
There the New Girl found the Old
Woman in the throeS of finance. Leila
had brought her check book and her
bank book to her husband. Her af-
fairs We're In n knot.
He laughingly offered to help her.
She was hurt by his laughter, but not
In SO deeply as he was by his dis
coyery of her monetary condition. He
had established her bank account in
flee on the altar of love. She had not
cherished it, but scattered it heed
lcSsll. And money was peculiarly
precious now in the final agonies of
the hard times, when only the fittest
of the fittest could survive the last
tests. Credit was the water cask, and
dollars We're the hard biscuits of a
bOatload of survivors from a wreck.
Land might be reached If they held
out, but self-denial was vital.
Bayard gazed at Leila with wonder
ing love and terror. She was both
divinity and devil in his eyes. He
groaned:
Are you trying to wreck me? You
know how hard I'm working and how
much | need money in my business
and how much it means to your future,
but you won't stop buying and charg-
ing and burning my poor little earn
ings. We discharged II s~tenographer
yesterday because we wanted to ave
her salary of fifteen dollars-and
here's a check for a pair of shoes for
you that cost sixteen.
But tell me one thing more before
I'm carted off to Bloomingdale in a
straitjacket. Why, in heavens name,
why-admitting you just had to have
that pitiful little pair of shoes-why,
when you wrote the check, didn't you
subtract it from your balance instead
Of adding it? ask your
"Oh, did | do that?' she asked, look
ing over his shoulder. $50 did ~ and
she put her cheek close to his and
giggled.
lie shook his head in imbecile infat-
uation, and drew her around into his
arms.
That was what Daphne overheard
,.rbap thn maid lot hor I'm Che fnttpl
Leila resting In Bayard's lap.
Bayard did not tell Daphne what his
conference with Leila had been. He
closed the check book and the
bank book and said to Leila "Ill send
the bank my check for ~thirty-eight
cents and ask 'em to close their ac-
count. They'll be mighty glad to
do It,"
"And so will l." said Leila. at was
awfully hard work keeping track of
every little penny. I'd much rather
have a regular allowance in cash ev-
cry week"
"All right" said Bayard. "We1l try
that-next week"
Daphne was not told what all this
talk was about, but she made a fair
guess, though she pretended not to.
She told about her failure and her
and Leila praised her courage
and her optimism. They dined cheer.
fully and Bayard decided that the best
preparation for the hard work ahead
Of him would be an evening of gayety.
He invited his wife and his sister to
with him to the Winter Garden,
where the typical Sunday concert" Of
New York was given.