Today and Tomorrow

• Watchlist

"Do it now'' was a phrase that was as meaningless to Julia Monroe as was the word necessity. Rich, idle, pampered, petted, willful, spoiled, she knew time only as a tedious something that was to be spent as amusingly as her extravagant fancy dictated. When love came, it made but one change; her time became to her a precious gift to be spent delightfully in her lover's presence. Trouble came in the form of old Monroe's discontented employees. Long tedious days of work were broken or followed by no pleasure but what their food gave them, and when that became intolerable, they grumbled and fretted in a way that was a warning to their employer. He sent Lee Payne, his daughter's fiancé, to the city to get food, and get it quickly. In the city Lee met Julia, and when she heard of his mission she disregarded its importance as she always did anything that stood between her and her pleasure. The minutes grew to hours, and still she petulantly used all of her charm and power to keep him by her side. Torn between love and duty, he betrayed his trust when he needed most to be firm. In vain the men at the oil works waited for the promised food. Night came. Led on by a trouble-making malcontent they broke loose and tried to vent their anger on the employer they believed had lied to them. One spark of flame destroyed his plant. Morning, and the arrival of an armed guard were the only things that stood between the Oil King and the Great Beyond. The "reliable" employee was cast out, a stigma forever on his name, and the girl realized too late the part she'd played in blighting her future happiness and his. Who Pays?