"Not so hot," he answered, "but the humidity was stifling. What's wrong, Helen? You look all out of sorts." "Just tired, I suppose," she said. "Driving a car is a strain on the nerves." "Yes, it is for a beginner; you shouldn't attempt such long trips until you're more accustomed to the wheel. Have any trouble?" "I stalled the motor on a hill, but I just put on the emergency brake and worked the starter. That's what you told me to do in a case like that." "Good headwork, Helen. The truth is, I'd worried about you a good deal. If anything had happened to you, my darling----" His voice choked, husky with emotion, and he put his fingers softly to a strand of bronze hair that had broken prison from under the edge of her hat. When a man is in a soft mood, that is the best time for a wife to ask what she wants. Helen realized this and decided not to delay the matter of the needed thousand dollars. So she reached up and let her hand close about his. "Kirklan," she said, "I--I am worried about something. I am ashamed to come to you with it, but----" A look of alarm came into Gilmore's face, as he waited for her to continue. "Oh, Kirklan, I--I am so--so ashamed. It's money." He gave a quick, relieved laugh. "And it hurts your pride to ask your husband for a little shopping money. Since you feel that way about it, I suppose we'd better decide on a regular allowance. No doubt you'd like to have your own little bank account. I'll be as generous with you as I can, dear, but, as I told you before we were married, I'm no bloated capitalist. The royalties from the last book are coming in pretty regularly now, although we hope they'll be even larger. The sales seem to be growing. Did you have your mind set on any particular amount? Don't be timid about it, honey; if it's more than I can stand I'll have to tell you so." "There--there are so many things I need, Kirklan; sometimes a man doesn't understand about a woman's wardrobe. I've been afraid you would think I am extravagant, and I don't want to be a burden on you." It had been in her mind to manufacture some past debt, but his suggestion of an allowance seemed to make it easier. "How much do you want, Helen? You fix the amount, and, if I've got it, it's yours." Then, as she still seemed to hesitate, he suggested a figure that to his mind was generous. "Suppose I deposit five hundred in the village bank to start with? By the time you've checked against that, I'll have some more money coming in." "I--I'd like to have a thousand dollars, Kirklan. Does that seem a great deal? Of course I won't have to ask you for any more for--oh, for quite a long time." Gilmore was not displeased with her, but he was chagrined, for the reason that his own bank balance was three hundred dollars less than the thousand.