The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1919-05-16

u case OF nothing venture, nothing gain
II nothing purchase, nothing sell ! moth
/ ing borrow, nothing pay. The onl
Il way to get out Of debt is to go Il
/ deeper-like. getting fish hook out o
| your thumb"
/ Mrs. Chivvis suffered herself TO b,
persuaded. They visited the whole
salers and the jobbers and were wei
received, having paid cash before
and, thanks to Mr.. Chivvis' suggestion
having been astute enough to demand
discount for cash.
g And now the motortrucks and the
! delivery wagons and the cyclecars and
! the messenger boys began to pour
stock into the little shop. 1t was pleas.
, ant not to have to pay for things
, though the tips were reaching alarm
ing proportions, and the bundle of bills
for future settlement grew and grew.
Mrs. Chivvis made a list of their
debts and tried to show it to Daphne,
but she stopped her eyes and ears and
forbade any discussion that would
quench her spirit.
In the swirl of her tasks Daphne
almost forgot Clay Wimburn. She
was too busy to care much. She had
no time to mourn. Clay was only one
among a myriad regrets, and his af-
fairs could wait. Her business needs
could not.
Clay did not come near her. He
spent lot Of money trying to get her
off his mind. He got good deal on
his conscience, but not Daphne of his
mind. He longed for her especially,
| too, because there came sudden dis
aster to his schemes. He was not so
rich as he had been. Indeed, he could
not be sure that he was rich at all.
Any day might smother him with
bankruptcy. This fear kept him from
Daphne, too.
The bouncing munition stocks that
were known as "war babies had alb. |
ruptly fallen into a decline. The sub |
marine that torpedoed the Lusitania |
shattered Wall streets JOY, threw the
and set every one to questioning the
problem Of revenge and its cost.
The slump in the market came at
the most unfortunate moment for Bay.
ard and Clay. Any moment of slump
indeed, would have come most untime-
ly for their ventures.
skip and Chivvis" were making 8
soap-veiled windows they laughed and
debated on arrangements and price
tags and show cards.
Mr.. Chivvis, still out Of q job, actec I
as maid of all work and stevedore, {
and grew so useful that they had to
put him out. And at last the moment
arrived when they declared the shop
open, raised the curtain" as Daphne 6
said. 8
She waited with a stage-fright she G
1ad not felt in Reben's theater. There 9
was no lack of temperament in her :
manner now. But there was no audi /
,nce, either. !
At night Kip and Chlvvis locked
heir doors and went home, discour-
ICED beyond words and dismally
weary in the legs, also in the smile
muscles which had been kept at an ex.
'ectant tension all day long.
Occasional purchases were made,
tut unimportant. Kip and Chivvis
ried to learn what interested people z
nd what did not. They realized that 4
hey had far too much of certain :
Kings and far too little of others 2
hey attempted to sell the deadwood
y marking it down; but it would not u
,ove.
"What do the women care for
rices?" Daphne rallied. "They are ~
pending some mans money, anyway. D
hey pretend that it's to please him, NJ
ut they know and we know that it's =
ecause they hate each other" r
One day a great lady who could
ardly squeeze through the door
'eaked into the shop and spilled her.
If into startled little chair like
ad of coal. Daphne felt that she was
bout to die on their hands or ask for
ambulance, but she asked instead
r an embroidered breakfast gown
ON the window.
Mrs. Chivvis fetched It and the old
ress clutched it from her, holding II
to her nose as If to sniff it, but
ally to see it.
That's It'll That's what I've been
oking for!" she wheezed. "Have you
t much of this sort of thingT
"Oh yes"
"Agh, that's good! My daughter Is
lrrying in some haste-a young i'm
Gle who's going over to France to
an ambulance. I'm Mrs. Romily"
Mrs. Chivvis waited unperturbed for
'ther Identification. Daphne had
yer heard of Mrs. Romilly, either.
she gasDed as If she had been say
her prayers at the shrine of ROM
from childhood and now had been
tied by the patron saint whom she
recognized at once, of course.
Oh yes, of course"
1rs. Romilly was coughing on:
1e been to several shops, and l was -
lost In despair until l saw your
q. If you could do few things In
her a hurry fancy could give
large-ish order. And II tho
,gs were at all successful, could
DIV quite a little trade your way.