Carmelita stared at him wildly. The world was about to crash around her head now? No, no! "Please, please,—don't do that. Give me until to-morrow at least. I shall have the money somehow. Promise me you will let me have another day."
Hayden hesitated. He rose and twirled his hat a minute. Then he said, "Very well—to-morrow. If the money is not paid by midnight, I will have to go to town the next morning and call at Drake and Porter's." He hesitated again, seeming to feel that some explanation was due for his hardness. "Life is too uncertain these days in the gambling business, madame, to let bills run on. I hope you understand. And, personally, I think we have been pretty easy on you anyway."
With another bow he was off.
After a sparse luncheon Carmelita again sat down at her desk and spread out the bills in front of her and resumed her figuring. Then she started to take account of her resources. Dudley always left a check with her when he left on Monday mornings—a somewhat larger amount than he had been in the habit of allotting to her when they were occupying the apartment together. It was every cent he could afford, she knew. The last check was still there, intact. By rigid economy she could keep herself a week with it but it was a mere
