Page:Teeftallow-1926.djvu/372

IT TRANSPIRED, when the motor reached the Sandage bungalow in Lanesburg, that the coloured maid, Aline, was the only member of the household who knew precisely what to do under the untoward circumstance of Mr. Sandage being clapped in jail. On Mrs. Sandage's return she found a note from Aline in the crack of the front door saying that her mother was sick and she would not be able to come back any more. She would send her little brother for the money due her on the week's work. This note, correctly interpreted, meant that at last the Sandages had sunk to a social level to which Aline could not descend.

Mrs. Sandage read the perfectly clear writing with difficulty. It was always hard for her to understand what she read, owing to the length of time she had to devote to spelling out each word. At last she said in a lifeless tone, "Aline's quit us."

"Well, I'm glad of that," said Abner.

"Ever'thing'll go fin'ly," said Mrs. Sandage, staring at the bungalow as they entered it. "I know Jim'll lose his job after this."

"I don't think so," said Mr. Pratt helpfully. "Jim's awful popular."

"If we could git him out right away," wavered Mrs. Sandage. "A man's popularity goes down awful fast in jail. You must drive right over there, Abner, Jim wants to see you. He wants you to git Railroad Jones to git him out. You've got influence with Adelaide an' she's got it with her daddy." Here the good woman began sobbing again and holding in her spectral teeth. As she went weeping down the hall to her own room, she gasped, "I—I knowed I was