Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1933-06-01

TO college with her but things hap
pened and / couldn't; and poor Gym
thia had to come home herself La her
junior year."
Had TOT / thought she came be-
cause she was tired of It'll"
Elsie looked belligerent. Cynthia
never gives things up because she's
tired If she did, she'd give this store
up In hurry. The way that girl
works" She caught herself up
abruptly, realizing how freely she had
been discussing her employer with
stranger.
That's all right" lGeofr treasured
her. I'm friend OF her mother. Tell
me more about the shop. II you don't
mind. I'm deeply Interested"
"Why, you see. Cynthia wanted to
do something when she came back
from college. SO she started the Odds
and Ends. She had q little money
left her by her father-she put 1t all
Into this shop. At first she did every
In, went without dinner until after
she'd closed up. Then business picked
up and pretty soon she asked me Ii |
wouldn't like to help her. You bet /
did, too," said Elsie with convincing
simplicity. aThere isn't much I
wouldn't do for Cynthia, Ii 1t comes to
that
$50 the shop really pays for itselfr
She gave him an odd look. ut has
to-" she said briefly. If you know
Cynthia you know It's a llve-or-die
proposition with her. She doesn't go
into anything lightly"
Il should say notl" Geoff declared.
We've got to make enough" she
chartered on, ITO see us through the
dull season that comes between the
tourist trade and the Christmas sales.
November Is total loss as far as gift
shops are concerned" Her eyes trav-
eled to a banjo clock that licked on the
wall. eCynthIa'll be back any minute
now, and she'll tell you anything you
want to know about the shop
Geofr said guilty that he couldn't
wait; selected particularly hideous
and expensive desk set" and escaped
with It before 4cynthia.s= return. His
purchase gave him some little trouble
before he finally prevailed on a walt
ress at the cafe where he ate his lunch
to accept It.
His visit to the shop had cleared
up one thing that was beginning to
trouble him. A dim Idea that the FAM
lily might be In some manner dependent
upon the profits from the Odds and
Ends had haunted him for several
days. But several things contradicted
that theory. Every month, for exam
pie, Captain Cary slit certain gray
envelope and extracted check.
Royalties from little patent of
mine," he always said with open pride.
Sometimes he handed 1t to his daugh-
ter and babe her buy herself "some-
thing pretty" with it; sometimes he
tucked 1t away In his wallet.
Then, too, Miss Mona sometimes care
lessly referred to her husbands ~es-
tate" That word meant to Geofr the
large holdings which had come to his
mother and himself from his father.
There was no evidence OF want In the
house where he lived. Miss Mona wore
the prettiest of clothes, the food was
abundant II somewhat plain, Carys
light-hearted Indifference to his Jobs
did not indicate financial stress.
But still, Geofr told himself, that
might be the explanation of Cynthia's
penuriousness He almost hoped 1t
was. He hated to think OF girl
so young being so grasplng. But after
his talk with Elsie he was more than
ever convinced that ambition combined
with a stubborn determination to have
her own way was the motive back Of
Cynthia's appropriation of Tennys
board money and his own.
"YoHre a throwback," his mother
had told him more than once. Down
In your heart you dlsapprove OF the
modern woman, especially the woman
In business. You'd like to have all OF
my sex dependent ON yours for spend
Ing money. Your idea of a woman's
whole duty is making herself attrac-
tive to her man.
Geoff had laughed but he knew that
there was some truth In what she said.
Miss Mona came very near to being
his ideal of womanhood. She was
so gentle so sweet, SO sympathetic. She
was feminine to her fingertlps, with all
the little arts and graces OF bygone
generation.
Miss Mona listened with fiattering
attention to what he said OF his labora-
tory work, though he knew the chem
ical terms were so much Greek to her.
She was everything he had longed for
and missed In his mother, In short;
and the contrast between her and
Cynthia increased his antagonlsm
toward the girl.
Darn I'll Why can't she be like
Miss Mona p he fretted. She gives
me pain with her checking up every
thing poor little Tenny does, her
s-questlonlng of Cary, even her
implied rebukes of her motherI Fall