, dear."

"Heaven knows, I don't mean to add to your troubles, but when I think of
all that I've brought you to, I feel as if I should go out of my mind."

She put her hand on my arm, smiling up at me with her old sparkling
gaiety. "Come and sit down by me, and we'll have a cup of tea, and
you'll feel better. But first I must tell you that I am a terribly
extravagant person, Ben, for I paid another dollar and a quarter for a
pound of tea this morning."

"Thank heaven for it," I returned devoutly.

"And there's something else. I feel my sins growing on me. Do you
remember last winter, when you were worrying so over your losses, and
didn't know where you could turn for cash--do you remember that I paid
five thousand dollars--five thousand dollars, you understand, and that's
half of ten--for a lace gown?"

"Did you, darling?"

"Do you remember what you said?"

"'Thank you for the privilege of paying for it,' I hope."

"You paid the bill, and never told me I oughtn't to have bought it. What
you said was, 'I'm awfully glad you've got such a becoming dress,
because business is going badly, and we may have to pull up for a
while.' Then I found out from George that you'd sold your motor car, and
everything else you could lay hands on to meet the daily expenses. Now,
Ben, tell me honestly which is the worse sinner, you or I?"

"But that was my fault, too--everything was my fault."

"The idea of your committing the extravagance of a lace gown! Why, you
couldn't even tell the difference between imitation and real. And that
pound of tea! You know you'd never have gone out and spent your last
dollar and a quarter on a pound of tea."

"If you'd wanted it, Sally."

"Well, you speculated with that ten thousand dollars from exactly the
same motive--because you thought I wanted so much that I didn't have.
But I bought that gown entirely to gratify my vanity--so you see, after
all, I'm a great deal the worse sinner of us two. There, now, I must see
about the baby. He was very fretful all the morning, and the doctor says
it is the heat. I'm sure, Ben, that he ought to get out of the city. How
can we manage it?"

"I'll manage it, dear. The General will be only too glad to lend the
money. I'll go straight over and explain matters to him."

A cry came from little Benjamin in the nursery, and kissing me hurriedly
with, "Remember, I'm a sinner, Ben," she left the room, while I took up
my hat again, and went up-town to make my c