ew her purse down with an angry gesture.

"You are the crudest thing," he said.

"I slapped you once for calling me a crude little fool--and the next
time you try it I'll do better than that!" She was unable to control
her temper. "If you think being a bachelor and languishing in this
place would keep you afloat you're mistaken. It's me--I'm the one that
buys the bargains and runs the sewing machine half the night, sends
out the bills and wheedles the salesmen into looking at you--to say
nothing of doing the housekeeping, and keeping every good-looking
woman afraid of me, yet polite. Why, if you were alone any real
business man could come in here and start a shop and put you behind
the bench overnight. You're nothing! You never were. You lived on a
dead man's reputation until you married me, and now you're living on a
redheaded girl's nerve. I'll scold as shrilly as I like. If the
neighbours hear, all the better!"

Trudy had lost control of herself. Besides, she was very tired. "Who
told you to wear gray-velvet smocks in your drawing-room shop and to
have soft ties poured down softer collars? You look a hundred per
cent, better than when you hopped round in a check suit that gave you
a gameboard appearance. I did that. If I'd ever worked for O'Valley as
I have for you, thinking I'd get a good time out of it somehow, I'd
have had Mary Faithful on the run."

She did not add the rest of her ideas--that Beatrice O'Valley, not
contented with her store of possessions and avenues of interests,
contemplated playing property doll with this half-portion little snob
who stood before her in his ridiculous smock costume, half afraid and
half sneering.

The interview concluded with Trudy's going to the kitchen for some
kind of a supper and Gay's driving off post haste to see Beatrice.

* * * * *

When Steve returned from his hurried two-day trip he asked Beatrice if
she realized the amount of money she was spending.

"Why should I?" she answered, aggrievedly. Steve looked unusually
handsome this afternoon, and seemed to fit into the antique chair;
and, in contrast to her contemplated property doll, Beatrice felt
amiable and willing to play for favour. "I haven't asked you for one
quarter of it."

"That's the trouble--your father has gone on paying your bills, and
you don't seem to realize I am not an enormously rich man--and never
will be, abnormal business conditions having ceased