Jackson County journal., 1919-05-16
CHAPTER XIII.

When the Chivvises had gone Daph-
ne assailed the task of composing her
letter of resignation from Reben's EN-.
ploy. 1t was not easy to resign with
dignity and the necessary haste.
She sent it off by messenger. It 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.
tlce, and hoped that she would believe
him faithfully hers.
Daphne felt 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 20.
She decided to frame it and keep it 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 loom
for crimson tapestries almost as rich
| as her own 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 were in a knot.
He laughingly offered to help her.
She was hurt by his laughter, but not
haf SO deeply as he was by his dis
covery of her monetary condition. He
had established her bank account in
a mood of alteration, precious sacri-
flee on the altar of love. She had not
cherished it, but scattered it heed
lessly. And money was peculiarly
| precious now in the final agonies of
the hard times, when only the fittest
Of the ftteSt could survive the last
tests. Credit was the water cask, and
dollars were the hard biscuits of a
bOatlOad Of survivors from q wreck
Land might be reached if they held
out, but selfdenial 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
] o,.1
much I 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 a stenographel
yesterday because we wanted to save
her salary of fifteen dollars-an6
here's check for pair of shoes fol
you that cost sixteen.
"But tell me one thing more before
I'm carted off to Bloomingdale in 8
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 yor
subtract it from your balance instead
of adding it? I ask your
'Oh, did do that?" she asked, look
ing over his shoulder. $50 did!' an6
she put her cheek close to his anG
giggled.
He shook his head in imbecile infat
uation, and drew her around into his
arms.
That was what Daphne overheard
when the maid let her in. She foun6
Leila resting in Bayard's lap.
Bayard did not tell Daphne what his
conference with Leila had been. III
) simply closed the check book and thu
: bank book and said to Leila: 'sI'n sen5
the bank my check for thirty-eigh
cents and ask 'em to close their ac
count. They'll be mighty glad tt
do it,"
"And so will l." said Leila. 1T wa.
awfully hard work keeping track O.
every little penny. I'd much rather
have regular allowance in cash ev
cry week.
"All right!" said Bayard. "WeM tr,
that-next week.
, Daphne was not told what all thi
talk was about, but she made a faj
guess. though she pretended not to