Page:Arthur Hornblow--The end of the game.djvu/128

126 seen Roy. I believe you. But he will come. Of that I am certain. And when he does come I want you to help me."

He fumbled inside his breast pocket and produced a slip of white paper.

"Here!" he said, "this is for you if you'll help me."

Mechanically she extended her hand and took the paper. She looked at it for a moment and a deep flush spread over her face and neck. It was a check to her order for $1,000.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I will tell you," he answered quickly, pleased to see she took it so sensibly. "I, of course, appreciate your position. Roy, no doubt, has said a lot of things he should not have said and led you to entertain hopes that can never be realized. Roy must marry a girl with money. I realize that it is a disappointment to you, but when one has youth and—beauty, one soon forgets. The world is large. There are plenty of eligible young men left. Leave us Roy both for his sake and for ours. Don't take our son from us. Refuse to have anything to do with him. Go away! If you leave Boston he will soon tire of pursuing you, and gradually he'll forget you. With this $1,000 you can go to some other city, secure a position in some family or school, and you'll always have a nice little capital in case you marry or fall ill."