The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1919-04-11
CHAPTER XIII.

When the Chivvises had gone Daph
ne assailed the task of composing hel
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. 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 substitute for his first
letter. In this he expressed his regret
| at learning Daphne's decision to re-
sign; the former understpdy had come
back from the road, he said, and would
resume her work. He begged Daphne
to accept the fnclosed check for two
weeks salary In lieu Of the usual no.
tice, 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 go.
She decided to frame it and keep it to
point to In after years as the begin
ming of her great fortune.
Late i'm the afternoon, when the
western sky was turning into a 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
hat 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- |
fee on the altar of love. She had not |
lessly. 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 were the hard biscuits of q
Doatload of survivors from a wreck.
Land might be reached If they held
put, but self-denial was vital.
Bayard gazed at Leila with wonder
ng love and terror. She was both
divinity and devil In his eyes. He
yroaned:
"Are you trying to wreck me? You
Know how hard I'm working and how
much 1 need money in my business
md how much it means to your future,
tut you won't stop buying and charg-
ng and burning my poor little earn
ngs. We discharged stenographer
because we wanted to save
Ter salary of fifteen doIlars-and
Iere's check for pair of shoes for
ou that cost sixteen.
"But tell me one thing more before
IN carted off to Bloomingdale in a
traitjacket. Why, in heavens name,
you just had to have
hat pitiful little pair of shoes-why,
7hen you wrote the check, didn't you
ubtract 1t from your balance instead
( adding it2 / ask you'll"
"Oh, did do that2" she asked, look
IL over his shoulder. $50 did !" and
be put her cheek close to his and
iggled.
He shook his head in imbecile fnfat-
alton, and drew her around into his
rms.
That was what Daphne overheard
hen the maid let her in. She found
ella resting In Bayard's lap.
Bayard did not tell Daphne what his
Inference with Leila had been. He
IMPLY closed the check book and the
ank book and said to Leila: "Tll send
le bank my check for thirty-eight
,nts and ask 'em to close their ac-
,unt. They'll be mighty glad to q
) it."
@And so viii l." said Leila. 1T was
wfully hard work keeping track of {,
,ery little penny. I'd much rather d
i've = regular allowance in cash ev- d
y week" b
sAI Right I" said Bayard. Wen Try D
lat--next week" Il,
Daphne was not told what an this
IL was about. bit shs made Z fair y
seos, thougA ~ protended not q. IL