Another Austin Philips story, this one from Nash's Magazine, November 1909. In "The Booby Trap," a postmistress contends with a person out of her past; one who knows her dark secret.
It's rather interesting that the protagonist became a postmistress, given what her secret is. It's quite understandable that she wouldn't want her secret revealed, for a variety of reasons. Philips reveals a rather cynical (but probably accurate) attitude towards human nature:
In spite of what she had said, she was afraid of the scandal. The village, intolerant, uncharitable, and gossiping, would make her life unbearable. She and her husband—if he still stuck to her—would have to leave.
So all in all, she probably did the best that she could do.