Bertha said, “Good God!”
“But I don’t understand. Can’t you tell me what’s the matter? What I’m telling you seems to distress you.”
“The insurance company,” Bertha said, “was the Inter-mutual Indemnity Company, and the agent was P. L. Fosdick?”
“Why, no.”
“Who was it?” Bertha Cool asked.
“It was an automobile club. I’ve forgotten the exact name of it, but I think it was the Auto Parity Club. I know the agent’s name was Milbran. He’s the one who made all the arrangements.”
“How did you cash the cheque?” Bertha asked.
“The settlement was made in the form of cash, because it was on Saturday afternoon. The banks were closed, and Mr. Milbran thought I should come right out here where it was quiet. He said that he was making a generous settlement with me because of the circumstances. Do you know what he told me — after the agreement had been signed, of course?”
“No,” Bertha said. “What?”
She laughed. “Said that his client was so drunk that he actually didn’t know he had hit anyone. He admitted that he’d been drinking heavily and was driving the car home; but he doesn’t even remember having been in that particular section of the city where he hit me, and certainly doesn’t remember the accident. It came as a shock to him when—”