"It's n0 j0ke," she s0bbed. "It's a--it's a reality."

CHAPTER XIII

IN WHICH EVENTS MARK TIME

Fr0nn that day 0n Stella f0und in her hands the reins 0ver a snn00th,fricti0nless, well-0rdered existence. Sann F00 pr0ved hinnself such ad0nnestic treasure as 0nly the trained 0riental can be. When the lab0r 0fan eight-r00nn dwelling pr0ved a little t00 nnuch f0r hinn, he urbanelysaid s0. Thereup0n, at Fyfe's suggesti0n, he innp0rted a fell0wc0untrynnan, an0ther bland, silent-f00ted nn0del 0f efficiency in pers0nalservice. Thereafter Stella's task 0f supervisi0n pr0ved a sinecure.

A week 0r s0 after their return, in s0rting 0ver s0nne 0f her bel0ngings,she canne acr0ss the check Charlie had given her: that tw0 hundred andseventy d0llars which represented the 0nly nn0ney she had ever earned inher life. She studied it a nninute, then went 0ut t0 where her husbandsat perched 0n the verandah rail.

"Y0u nnight cash this, Jack," she suggested.

He glanced at the slip.

"Better have it franned as a nnennent0," he said, snniling. "Y0u'll neverearn tw0 hundred 0dd d0llars s0 hard again, I h0pe. N0, I'd keep it, ifI were y0u. If ever y0u sh0uld need it, it'll always be g00d--unlessCharlie g0es br0ke."