Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1930-11-20

He found that with the CLUBS can
celed he would have. in due time. the
entire amount OF 4 years house rent.
AT the breakfast table Flip, stern
and white and looking in an overall
white apron deceptively efficient. an
nounced that she had found all the
bills and had put them together on
the desk for him TO examine.
Because" she explained coldly. we
cannot begin 10 save for the fund I'M
til we have paid off the bills. II would
not be fair t the trades people. You
will, of course. so on living here be-
cause it will be a lot cheaper than liv-
ing in town.
You could go to Cousin JesSica,' he
suggested politely. and we could close
up the house"
FliD'S mouth frightened.
Don't cloud the issue" she advised
him, dryly. The plan we worked out
last night is the only possible way to
handle this thing. We have a lease
on this house and you'd have to pay
the rent anyway 1t is much more
sensible to stay in it and cut down ex-
penseS. exactly as we planned it. Be-
sides. II don't want Cousin JeSsica
to know anything about It Just yet.
lit would hurt her too much"
He nodded carelessly. He was think
ing that at no time had he really be-
lieved Flip wanted a divorce, nor had
he supposed she'd carry on the ar
rangement they had made in such cold
blooded seriousness the night before.
His pride stung, he resolved more de-
terminedly than eve to get money as
quickly as possible.
Money! He had thought he was
taking it seriously for the first time in
his life. A few hours later he knew he
had never before understood its power
to wound a mans pride and self-re-
spect. 1t happened this way:
Flip said: ".Since we've agreed to pay
cash for everything I'll have to have
money to buy food with tomorrow.
Have you got any?"
"Oh, yes" he had answered lightly
and opened his newspaper to conceal
the swift panic risen to his face. After
paying off Cleo and stalling the piano
people with a payment he had left
exactly 81 cents. Wild pictures of a
starving family fevered his brain before
he was able to think. Rejecting finally
impulses toward pawning the clock or
some of the silver, he remembered in
a flight of inspiration Anna P~hllllppa's
china pig. He found it in the nursery,
He found Anna Phillippa there, too
just waking from her afternoon nap
He carried the pig over to her bed
side. After all, it would amuse her tc
hear the violent clinking he planned
to give it and it was her twenty dollar
gold piece.
Anna Phillippa was delighted with
her fathers furious play with her pig
The pig finally disgorged. Bill
pulled pencil and paper from his
pocket.
I'm putting an l., o. U. in here
Anna Phillippa," he said, gravely, land
I'll pay this back with so per cent in
terest.' Whereupon he replaced the
clink with a penny and left the house
to change the coin into ordinary cur
rency-feeling exactly like those human
buzzards who are alleged to take pen
MES from dead mems eyes and candy
from babies.
This, then, was the soul tormented
young nan who appeared SO early al
his desk on Monday morning. Moreover
here was a young man who had stopped
smoking and with queer sensations Of
unrest in his crawling wrists and elbow,
was trying to concentrate with a brair
muscle gone flabby with disuse upor
a plan he had had once for increas.
rival firms.
Eventually the muscle hardened ant
the crawling things died away. Bill,
evenings were long and quiet in hi
home, where he worked or read O
studied ~treatises on the automotive in.
dustry. Flip studied cook books ant
budgets. He had to admit that sh|
was learning. He went home to meal
which improved daily. He found he
!. tired but grimly earnest.
Somehow, though. she began to lool
sturdier. Her eyes were clearer and tn
PCVuidiio HVoiC ulOOp ia tliC COlllcl v
her mouth had vanished. The droo
had got there, ne we'll knew, becaus
of their old incessant pickering. No,
there was no more pickering. Once
week they sat down together-politel
seating themselves as far apart as pos
sible-to make an accounting. Bill dis
, played his. They discovered each othe
i. guilty of innumerable acts of careless
ness of such significance as to amour
to downright Observation-Disclosures
and therefore stupid and i%nexcusabl,
They said nothing. The pot cannot ca
the kettle black. An odd little feelin
!, Of understanding, each Of the other
weakness, and a certain pity, stirre
them.
Flip learned many astounding fact
She learned, for instance, that the let
: tiers o. D. appearing on her bank state
: ment were not the initials of the pay
:, ing teller. She learned that banks al
always right because they have addin
machines and that they were not TEN
pies of altruism devoted to handin
: over to pretty young women an
.. amount Of money they CHANGED to in
scribe upon an oblong slip of pape
She became aware of the pregnar
meaning of the phrase, assets and liza
) bilities. In all fairness, she felt a cel
tain pride in Bill, too. There was
: new ring in her voice, a new arroganc
in the poise Of his head.
Che o1cn fc,,rL ~ ~,~ 4,1~,,c ,l.x-