Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-03-11
HER MONEY
BY CAROLYN BEECHER
CHAPTER LXVIII

~ ETER stood waiting, his face white and
r set Althea after one look at him sald'
Il promise
He gave her Bundy's note and left her.
moment afterWard she heard the street
door open, rhen close.
1t was s. aral hours before he returned
and at once Ought Althea. Said he:
81 was right! That creature was attemDs~
ing to blackmai you. She told me so her"
self, practically. She would brighten you
into bailing her out of Jail, then she would
come for more money.
"'What-what did she tell you?" AS she
asked the question Althea lowered her eyes.
Nothing that need give you any uneasi-
ness AS far as you are concerned the incl
dent is closed. She will never approach you
again.
In spite of her anxiety, her shame, Althea
felt little throb of joy. And she couldn't
have told Peter He would have been ter
ribly angry if she had, and he was quite
calm.
Had she known that Miss Bundy had lied
to Peter, told him she had asked her to
watch him and promised her money, Althea
| would have despared. She would scarcely
have believed Peter could ever pardon her.
But fortunately Peter was a good judge OF
| character had known that Bundy was lying,
that she had twisted what might have been
simple interest in his actions to suit herself.
Althea had been foolish, more than fool
ish, but she also had been ignorant of the
woman's real character, which was in part
his fault. The papers printed his version
| of the affair-a simple case of dischargng
/ an incompetent person, and that person try
| ing to work on the sympathies of his wife
! and then to backmail her.
1t would now be a nine days topic Of
gossip, then forgotten. Forgotten by all but
those Immediately interested.
my hats off to Peter!" Rodney Blackwell
said to Althea. "In his digniied way he
has settled that affair as not one man in
| hundred would have settled it. No one
blames you; they think your good heart ran
away with your better judgment. Cad! il
| Nell had gotten me into scrape like that
| I'd have divorced her..
"Id like to see you try!" Nell said. But
| what's to be done with Miss Bundy?"'
six months on the Island" Rodney re-
| Piled Time to sober UP before she gets
| out. They should have made it year. A
woman like that is dangerous.
Althea recalled that Peter had told her
| Bundy\ was a dangerous woman, and that
! she had laughed at him. She felt no inn
| pulse to laugh now She felt humble,
ashamed, contrite. Yes, Peter had been Won
| derful-she agreed with Rodney, but in
| spite of impulse to tell him so she re-
Trained.
Peter did not know she had such terri
| BILE reason to be grateful and she would
| not awake his suspicion by acknowledging
| gratitude. SO she made no further mention
| of Miss Bundy. If Peter wondered at her
| silence, her ingratitude, he made no sign
| Mrs. Williams name had not been mem
| toned as far as Althea knew, so of course
Peter could know nothing of her jealousy
the reason she had listened to Bundy.
| For that she was thankful it made her
| almost meekly amenable.
| After his interview with Miss Bundy, ar
| ranged by lawyer, his first thought had
| been to save Althea not only from the con-
sequences of her foolishness but to save her
| pride.
| Miss Bundy had been particular in i'm
| pressing upon him that Althea had really
hired her to watch him and Mrs Williams,
that she hated Miss Howard and had con-
| ided this fact to the nurse, that she had
| been about to go to her again the day after
! she arrested with her report Pressed
| as to just what she had told Althea she
mentioned among other things the afternoon
| when Peter and Mrs Williams rode away
| from the hospital together and the engineer
| had seen Mrs, Williams head on Peters
| shoulder
Peter scorned to make any explanation,
although Mrs. Williams had been suddenly
faint and fell against him. Yet he couldn't
! forget to wonder just why Althea, caring
nothing for him as he thought, should be in
terested enough in what he~did to pay for
information 1t couldn't be jealousy! She
never had shown the slightest sign of that
emotion. 1t must be that she was thinking
OF divorce, wanted evidence to procure it,
There was Kenneth Moore.
Peter was as sure A1thea had sent for him
as II he had heard her telephoning He vas
peculiarly intuitive where such things were
concerned; more so than most men He be-
neved Moore to be in love with AIthea
and that she more than liked him She had
turned to him in trouble had intended to
make him her conidant had it not been too
late. And Moore had been ready, anxious to
help her without asking any questions.
Continued Thursday. Renew your subscrip.
'lon now so as not to miss a chapter of this
abSophiuD of - N~~