still she was so utterly alone and distrait that she was willing to
give ear to Clyde's mock genial, if not exactly affectionate observations and suggestions. It caused her, at his behest, to wait a
while longer, the while, as he now explained, he would not only have saved up some money, but devised some plan in connection
with his work which would permit him to leave for a time anyhow, marry her somewhere and then establish her and the baby as
a lawful married woman somewhere else, while, although he did
not explain this just now, he returned to Lycurgus and sent her
such aid as he could. But on condition, of course, that never
anywhere, unless he gave her permission, must she assert that he
had married her, or point to him in any way as the father of her
child.
Also it was understood that she, as she herself had asserted over and over that she would, if only he would do this—marry her—take steps to free herself on the ground of desertion, or something, in some place sufficiently removed from Lycurgus for no one to hear. And that within a reasonable time after her marriage to him, although he was not at all satisfied that, assuming that he did marry her, she would.
But Clyde, of course, was insincere in regard to all his overtures at this time, and really not concerned as to her sincerity or insincerity: Nor did he have any intention of leaving Lycurgus even for the moderate length of time that her present extrication would require unless he had to. For that meant that he would be separated from Sondra, and such absence, for whatever period, would most definitely interfere with his plans. And so, on the contrary, he drifted-thinking most idly at times of some possible fake or mock marriage such as he had seen in some melodramatic movie—a fake minister and witnesses combining to deceive some simple country girl such as Roberta was not, but at such expense of time, resources, courage and subtlety as Clyde himself, after a little reflection, was wise enough to see was beyond him.
Again, knowing that, unless some hitherto unforseen aid should eventuate, he was heading straight toward a disaster which could not much longer be obviated, he even allowed himself to dream that, once the fatal hour was at hand and Roberta, no longer to be put off by any form of subterfuge, was about to expose him, he might even flatly deny that he had ever held any such relationship with her as then she would be charging-rather that at all times his relationship with her had been that of a department manager to employee—no more. Terror-no less!
But at the same time, early in May, when Roberta, because of various gestative signs and ailments, was beginning to explain, as well as insist, to Clyde that by no stretch of the imag-
