Evening star., 1923-03-19

said with an aspect of formality
| which he assumed to cover his awk-
wardness, ito think that you're
thought me worthy of your conf
denceS"
She smiled mistily.
Good old Rameses," she said gent
ber."
Anything" he repeated with a so
Der grin. Even to riding wild
horses"
She looked at him reproachfully,
out of the door.
Goodbye, Cherry" he said cheer
fully. And buck up!''
'I will. Goodbye. my friend.
After he had gone she stood for q
long moment watching the doorway
| where he had been. a puzzled little
| wrinkle at her brows.
OF course they were all perfectly
| helpless. The sudden wrecking OF
Alicia Mohun's argosy. in a smiling
/ had amazed and bewildered her
! Hoping against hope. she listened
with a greater dismay and terror al
each telling to the statements
| brought to her from downtown, first
! by Bob Mohun and later by Robert
Pennington her husbands lawyer
/ The equities in the place at Oyster
/, Eay, the newly purchased villa al
Newport and the house in which
/ they were living were not nearly so
! large as had been supposed: were SO
small. in fact. that nothing could be
i realized from them at a forced sale
! for James Mohun. playing for large
I stakes, had put al the money In
! his possession into the business. pre-
! ferring to pay per cent in interest Tor
funds upon which he hoped to make
20 per cent
| The trustee of the bankruptcy pro-
! ceedings, Geoffrey Towne, had al
| ready proceeded with passionless pre-
/ cision in compiling list of Mohun' S
| available asserts, many of which had
! already been hypthecated in the
| effort to avert disaster.
/ But 1t was all very difficult for
Alicia Mohun to understand. She had
! so long accustomed herself to avoiding
| the rough contacts of the world that
! she still used every sophistry TO de-
, unpleasant to her. Stretched hpon
| her pink couch and dressed in her
! prettiest neglige she listened tear
fully. but with a pose of fell deter
! mination, smelling bottle in hand
while the lawyer tried with skillful
phrases as gild the pill so that II
would be more palatable.
| But Robert Penningtonn was a
mere man. and Alicia's beauty had
| now gained the added charm OF
| patnOS WnlCn more lndn compensated
! Tor the shadows at her eyes and the
i tiny lines that she had not been able
to obliterate. The message that he
brought seemed almost a violation
| of that delicate and sensitive body.
IL regret. Mrs. Mohun," he finished
! that unless you have some income
apart from that with which your
husband has been providing you, and
] of which I am unaware 1t would be
very Observation-Disclosures say neces-
| sary for you to change-ahem-
almost at once-your whole mode OF
| living
"oh, dear Mr.. Pennington" she
sighted, lis it as bad as that? ]
hoped at least that we could keep this
| house and the place at Oyster Bay
Couldn't we really, il we We're very
! economical?'
"I-ahem-rm afraid not. Mrs
Mohun. You see the houses. not be-
I, longing to you, not being in your
name-even the one at Newport,
discover - they - Internationally will
go into the receivership."
But couldn't we ask their indul-
gence-at least until Mr. Mohun gets
better? He is getting better. Mr.. Pen
nington-the doctors all tell US
'Im-ah-afraid that that will BIZ
| impossible" said the lawyer.
You don't understand. MuZzy.'
Cherry broke in with brutal frank
ness What Mr.. Pennington is try,