Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

: The Secret of Caprice * system and I won’t mind—honest. I used to remind the late John Herriot of lots of his swear words when he got too mad to remember them himself. I was really a most helpful wife in that way.” “You are—you are altogether—— “Altogether right,” she supplemented with an air of finality. ‘We'll admit it and avoid further argument. that I am right—and I’m glad you do— you must also admit that you’re a mighty foolish young man to think seriously of a girl like her. How much money do you make?” “How much——” Ward was floundering helplessly. The suddenness and unexpectedness of her style of attack had found him totally unguarded. “Yes; how much a year do you earn? I don’t mean exact figures. I mean do you earn enough to put yourself in the financial class with the Blaydons? But of course you don’t.” “Mrs. Herriot,” he managed to blurt out, “you are wrong, really. There isn’t any——” “Now—now.” Her tone was sootidaw: “We won’t discuss it~any more. I just wanted to give you a friendly tip that Nel- lie Blaydon is too uppish to let her feelings run away with her good judgment.” “You say—” Ward had recovered con- trol of himself during her long speech— “vou say that you only came down here on account of Stephen Blaydon?”’ “Yes; Stephen and I have been friends for a good many years. He used to know the late John Herriot. They had lots of jamborees together. In fact, they were the best pair of jamboreers you ever saw.” “But I thought—I understood that it was Otto Blaydon who was your friend.” “Well, Otto.and I weren’t friends, ex- actly —” “Of course,” Ward interrupted, “I know that you were more than friends. One scarcely uses the word ‘friend’ in speaking of a woman’s fiancé. I supposed it was be- cause of your engagement to Otto Blaydon that you had come down here.”’ For a brief instant, he fancied he saw in her calm eyes a quick flash of something very like surprise. But it was gone as quickly, and her tone and manner gave no further hint of it. “Yes,” she said, “my engagement to Otto naturally would bring me down here, 3? Now, admitting 37 wouldn’t it? I suppose Stephen told you of my engagement?” “No; I haven’t met Stephen Blaydon et. : . “Nellie is the only one of the family you have met?” Ves,”? “T hope that Nellie does not feel very bitter about my engagement to her father, does she?” “Why, really, Mrs. Herriot—”’ his tone - was protesting—‘‘we did not discuss it any further. She merely told me of the engage- ment and that you had planned to be mar- ried when her father returned from this trip to South America. That was all.” — The merest hint of shrewd wrinkles ap- peared in the corners of her eyes. “T see. Well, Nellie, of course, wouldn’t have me for. a stepmother for anything. And I really don’t blame her. Wouldn’t I be the devil of a stepmother for a girl like her? You needn’t answer if it will embar- rass you. I’m glad you admit it without argument. Now, I want to see that flying- machine of yours.” He tried desperately to draw her out fur- ther as they went to the tent and inspected the big aeroplane. He talked easily and carefully, explaining everything to her and, every now and then, leading the conversa- tion around to the things that he wanted to know, but she met him at every point with smiling good nature and, almost with- out knowing how it had been done, he found that he had been led away from the desired point without gaining even a hint of the in- formation that he sought. SHE left him after half an shite: re- VS f fusing his offer of assistance up the <AS ladder. He watched her broad back as it disappeared around the tent and then shook his head. He realized that she had been too clever for him. As he recalled their conversation, he was forced to admit that he had told her the whole story of the finding of Caprice and almost everything that had followed, but that she had turned off his own questions © with a seeming ingenuousness that, if as- sumed, proved her to be a past-mistress of the art of verbal fencing. He had learned absolutely nothing. It had all left him with the conviction that she had not originally known nearly so much as he had supposed she knew, but that, in RD en TR u ypRay de, om RET Pe nO RAPA Bate 9G EON Nt ey ENE as A lal ad | ty Ler AYR Pret (E() IOOKS MIE (EO)