touch of dignity that she thought of as
style.

Sitting down at the desk, she began to muse. Keller had fallen ill soon
after her wedding. It was a painful illness, and as skilled help was
scarce, she had nursed him until he died. He was a plain storekeeper,
but she knew he was, in many ways, a bigger and better man than Bob. He
demanded all that was his, but he kept his word, and when he undertook a
thing put it over, which Bob seldom did. Shortly before he died he gave
Sadie good advice.

"You got the man you wanted, and now it's your job to look after him.
head him off the liquor, and keep your hands on the dollars. I've fixed
things so's they belong to you."

Another time he asked for certain accounts, and after studying them
remarked: "You want to watch the business and run it all it's worth.
You have a husband to work for now, and I guess a man like Bob comes
expensive. Still, if you can guild him right, he's not all a fool."

Sadie had not resented this. She knew it was true, and her father had
not meant to sneer. He was a blunt man and generally talked like that,
and Sadie sometimes did so. Well, she had not been cheated, because
she knew what Bob was before they married; and although ambition had
something to do with it, she loved him. For all that, she had got some
rude jars, and now passion was dying, her love was colored by a certain
half-maternal protection. Bob must be watched and guarded.

Her ambition, however, remained. She had beauty and intelligence and
wanted to win a place in cultured society. Bob could help her, and she
was tired of the dreary settlement. But she was practical. Money would
be needed if they were to move to one of the cities, and although trade
was good, gathering dollars was slow work when one had an extravagant
husband. While she had been ill Bob was left in charge of the business,
and on recovering her first task had been to find out how he had
managed. Now she had found out and got something of a shock.

The room got colder, but Bob had made some entries in a cash-book she
could not understand, and opening the book again, she spent some time
in calculations that threw no fresh light on the matter. Then she heard
steps and turned as Charnock came in.

He took off his fur-coat and Sadie frowned as he dropped it into a dusty
corner. It was an expensive coat, but one could not teach Bob to take
care of things. Then he kissed her and sat down on the edge of the
table.

"Yo