Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 34: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

3 “T am afraid I should not have put it in just that way,” she replied. ‘However, I shall not bother to correct it.” “Very well,” said Ward. “That makes your meaning all the more clear. We will proceed, then, with the understanding that the shrewd Mrs. Herriot managed to get your father to propose marriage to her and that, of course, she promptly accepted Bim. - ‘“‘Please—please—’’ She put out a pro- testing hand. “Let me tell it in my way. My own blunder was bad enough. But you put it with almost brutal frankness. You must remember that I have already acknowledged that I have never been very friendly with Mrs. Herriot, so that my opin- ion of her engagement to father should not be accepted as unbiased. Mrs. Herriot may be a most estimable woman.” “T beg your pardon,” said Ward, smiling. “T’ll try not to interrupt again.” “The engagement was kept as secret as possible,” the girl resumed. “I do not know exactly why: I never asked. I be- lieve Mrs. Herriot planned to have the mar- riage take place as soon as father returned from his trip to South America. Conse- quently, I assume that she feels as deeply concerned in your discovery of Caprice as any of us, and she probably has some right to come down here and take her part in our efforts to solve the mystery. Only—I must admit that she will not cheer me up very much.” “Tsee. And what of your Uncle Stephen? Have you had any word from him?” Her startled eyes flashed up at him again. Then she looked away quickly as though fearing that he had seen her perturbation. “A letter,” she said. “Uncle Stephen will be here tonight. I have taken the lib- erty of asking John Drummond to return to Sea View for him as soon as he gets Mrs. Herriot. I trust you will not mind?” “Not in the least. I am most heartily glad he is coming.” : She hesitated again in embarrassment. It was most evident that she was finding difficulty in her choice of words. “Father’s—engagement,”’ she said finally, “involves so many things that are purely personal—purely family affairs, I mean— that I will ask you to be especially careful not to mention it to any one. You will promise, won’t you?” The brown eyes were turned upon him in Adventure a look that was so full of troubled appeal that Ward felt once more the strong influ- ence of her personality. All of his bitter thoughts fled in a moment, utterly routed by the one great fact of her nearness to him —of her nearness not only physically, but in this plea that she was making for his as- sistance. “Miss Blaydon,” he said, “‘I will do any- thing in the world I can to lighten the bur- den that you are bearing. I do not know what it is, and I do not ask. I only want you to feel sure that you can depend upon me in any way in which I can help.” She turned her eyes to him again, this time with a hint of surprise and interroga- tion in them, as if she did not quite under- stand the cause for such a speech from him, Then the eyes softened and dropped. “Thank you,” she said. ‘You are most kind—and I will remember if I need help.” _ Again the interrogative look flashed at him, quickly and in frightened indecision, and she rose from her chair. “Tf you do not mind,” she said, “‘I think I will go below and lie down for an hour. I am really more tired than I realized.” - He rose, too, and stood watching her cu- riously as she walked along the deck to the hatch that led through the cabin trunk to the quarters below. He was troubled, un- easy. Something in the expression that he had seen in those brown eyes of hers puz- zled him. The sorrow and the appeal in them were natural enough under the cir- cumstances. But with this sorrow and ap- peal, there was undoubted fright—a fright that amounted almost to terror in her first glance at him. Of what should Nellie Blay- don be afraid? He shook his head in his helplessness to solve the riddle. Again there came to him the conviction that he must go, that he had no further right to force himself into this complicated family affair upon which he had so unexpectedly stumbled. If a terri- ble crime had been committed, it was no business of his. If not—if, in some way, there were another explanation for what seemed inexplicable on a legitimate basis— then, also, his interference was in bad taste. He would go. aus eas and walked slowly and thoughtfully over to the tents. He found Carl bustling about inside. HE CLIMBED down the ladder GEomichooks (S@)