Astra by Grace Livingston Hill

THE L ORD . Was that true? Did all the people who read that sign believe that? No, of course not. Only a comparative few. But it was good to believe. To know that that Savior was hers. She might be desolate and alone in the world, but He was
her
Savior. She was glad she believed!
    There came a little thrill to her heart that she used to feel sometimes when her father said such things to her. It was as if a definite message had come down from her own dear earthly father, that she wasn’t alone. As if that white star up the street had a distinct message, just for her.
    She turned on her light, gave a dash of cold water to her face, smoothed her hair, got dressed, and put on her hat and coat. She would go to the telephone and try to get Mr. Sargent at once. Then, if he was at leisure, she would perhaps go and see him a few minutes this evening and find out if it was possible to get an advance on her next month’s allowance. That was what she ought to have done before she lay down to rest.
    Also, she should count over her money and be sure just what she had left. It certainly was very little on which to depend for the two whole weeks till the holidays were over and she could venture to call up a few friends and offer them a brief visit. She was on her own, and she must live as frugally as possible. A glass of milk and a few crackers would do for supper tonight. She had lunched royally this noon. She would bring a bottle of milk and a box of crackers back with her when she returned from her walk.
    So she went to the telephone and called up the Sargent home.
    But the voice that answered was not familiar and turned out to belong to a new servant who did not know Astra.
    “No, Mr. Sargent isn’t here. He’s in Florida. He’s been very ill with pneumonia, and he may be there some weeks. They won’t dare bring him home till spring now, I guess, coming out of that warm climate, you know.”
    “Oh!” said Astra in dismay, her heart sinking. “I didn’t know he was sick.”
    “Who is it?” asked the woman. “Is there any message? Did you want to speak to anyone else?”
    “Oh, why, I don’t know. I’m Miss Everson. Mr. Sargent is an old friend of my father’s, and he has charge of my financial affairs. I wanted to talk to him on business as well, because he is our friend. But isn’t anybody else there? Is Mrs. Sargent there?”
    “No, she went with her husband.”
    “Well, is anybody else of the family there?”
    “Only his nephew, Mr. Will. He’s looking after the office while his uncle’s gone. Perhaps you’d like to speak to his secretary. Mr. Will Sargent isn’t here tonight. He went up to New York, but he left one of his secretaries here. Maybe you’d like to speak to her. Here she comes now. She’s just come in from the office.”
    So Astra had a brief talk with the secretary. But she was a new acquisition and had no knowledge of affairs at the office yet.
    “I think Mr. Will would know about your affairs,” she said. “He’ll be back day after tomorrow, I think, although he might not come till after Christmas. He had an invitation to go to some ranch house or club or something in the mountains, and he said he might go. He said there wouldn’t be anything much doing in the office now anyway until after the holidays. I can’t even give you an address, because he hasn’t sent it to me yet.”
    “Well, I wonder if you would have any way of finding out a few things about my account,” said Astra in desperation. “My money came last week while I was out west, and most of it was stolen from me before I started east. I had a time getting enough together to come, and I wanted to know if I could have a part of next month’s allowance in advance.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t know anything about that,” said the secretary coldly. “You’d have to wait till Mr. Will gets back.”
    “Oh!” said Astra, dismay filling her lonely soul. “Well, couldn’t you give me Mr. Sargent’s address, and then I could