Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-06-07

things down."
Her money! How about yoursr'
Cary grinned. "D'you think ]
could hold on to FIVE thousand for
more than two years. Man, 1t went
so fast | hardly got a glimpse of 1t
as it passed from my hand to
othersl Cynthia started the Odds
and Ends. and she went TO Miss
Nona's creditors and explained that
she'd pay something every month If
they'd give her time. You wouldn't
believe how nearly she's out Of
debt" he finished c%omplacently.
Cary's casual air of detachment
from his mothers financial problems
vas staggering to Geon. Little by
little his first picture of the Ayles-
bury family was changing. In that
Cynthia, a tyrannical, penurious lit
tie figure, had been etched sharply
against a background of kindly, gen.
tie people who loved her in spite of
her difference from themselves.
Now he saw her as a care-worn
girl, spending her youth In an effort
to discharge her foolish mothers
debts, keeping sharp watch OF the
irresponsible Cary. exacting board
from visitors who planned to stay q
year. endeavorIng to put Mr.. Mon
tague's check TO the best use before
Miss Mona spent 1t for e%xtrayagant
trifles.
Anger welled up In Geoff's heart
anger against the sweet but futile
Miss Mona, against the lmprac-
ticable Captain, above all against
the graceful youth who lay on his
bed smoking while his young sister
battled-it might be for her very
life II the hospital as a result of
the burdens her young shoulders had
borne.
AS though Cary read his thoughts,
he smiled ruefully.
Mice family, aren't we? But
here's me thing you've got to take
into consideration. Geoff. We've
had plenty of money all our lives
up to the time Dad died and every
thing went blooie. 1t took me four
whole years to realize that couldn't
ask Dad or Miss Mona for a check
whenever / wanted it suppose
Cynthia would say | don't entirely
realize 1t yet.
"But I'm learning, Geoff! Give
you my word, I'm learning. I'm not
proud of my record since Dad died.
If 1t hadn't been for Cynthia stand
ing by me, poking me up when !
Jagged and smoothing me down when
| got too discouraged, I'd have done
something pretty desperate before
now"
This, Geoff told himself, was true.
To one Of Cary's disposition, dis
grace and poverty were obstacles
too great to be borne. He would
have sidestepped them-in what
ever manner offered itself at the
time. Not the least of CynthIa's
problem, Geoff thought, was the re
sponsibility of this charming, gay,
but potentially dangerous brother Of
hers.
g
/ Cynthia had been six days at the
hospital; never dangerously III but
lying for the most part In q semi
stupor, the result of exhaustion.
These had been the six most strenu-
Gus days Geoff had ever known. By
the exercise of more brain power
than he had known he possessed, he
kept the household expenses within
the budget.
: He had never dreamed that keep
ing house was so complicated a mat
ter. 1t had seemed simple enough
on Monday when he learned from
Elsie what the shop contributed to-
ward expenses at home. He figured
1t on a monthly basis. A hundred
and fifty dollars from the shop, the
sum Cynthia insisted on keeping In
the bank against an emergency, and
the money she was still paying on
back debts; sixty dollars for his
own board-he wondered If he
might not Increase that pitifully in
adequate sum, but decided 1t would
not be playing fair with Cynthia
seventy-five from Tenny's father
two hundred and e~lghty-hve dollars
In all. Surely an adequate sum for
the maintenance of six persons.
Geoff had 1t all down In neat
rows: food, so much telephone, SO
much; clothing, so much; heat, light
and drugs, so much. He regarded
with pride his model budget and
longed to show 1t to Cynthia.
But like every other household
budget, 1t began to develop leaks
1t had not taken into account such
minor bills as the cost of the news
paper, dry cleaning for Cary and
Miss Mona, a plumbers bill for o
corroded pipe, breaking In the
kitchen.
Economy became an obsessior
with him. 1t would have been sim.
pie enough, of course, to meet al
deficits out Of his own pocket; but
somehow Geoff's pride wouldn't al
low that. Cynthia made him prom
Use to pay the household expenses
out of her own money. Then, too