All Story Magazine, December 1913 — page 119: what you’re looking at

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

A THIEVES’ allowed to get out of this country with- out having the police at your heels, you must tell Parks the whole story, or enough of it to convince him that you are telling the truth. “Otherwise you are likely to be held here indefinitely, with Beans going about with blood in his eye. You un- derstand?” ‘You don’t think I would be such a cad as to—” “Rubbish! and the Gobbler to think about. —the Gobbler.” Again he looked questioningly at me, evidently expecting me to make some objection to that. “That’s all right. Margaret and I will look after him. But that other business! Hang it all! I—” He laughed in the depths of him and came round the table, holding out his hand. As his giant fingers closed about mine he said quietly : “Thank you. I knew you would help me when the time came. But I see I must force you into that other thing, unless yqu want to spend your honeymoon in jail. You need not be in the least anxious about me. I am quite capable of—” A little tap upon the door interrupt- ed him. ‘Come!’ he called in a low tone, and Randor appeared. “Mr. Parks to see Miss Van Huy- sen,” he announced in a low monotone, as if he had been advised to do so. I glanced quickly up into Campbell's face, and saw him nod understand- ingly. ‘Any one with him?” “No, sir.” * All right. You've got your wife I said Show him in here.” CHAPTER XXXVI. RIDING OUT. WITH a sensation that the floor was sliding from under me I listened to the heavy footsteps in the hall, coming nearer and nearer. COMEDY. 829 Campbell dug his hands into his jacket-pockets. “Most peculiar thing I ever heard of,” he said loudly. ‘“* Miss Van Huy- sen tells me he is extraordinarily like me, and now you say you'd swear ina court of justice that we were the same man. I met the fellow once, I think, but I didn’t seem to see the startling—”’ “Detective Parks.” Randor’s inflectionless voice ushered the detective across the threshold, and a foot within the room Parks halted, looking as if he had come into the wrong place, and was on the verge of apologizing; and when the valet went out, closing the door, the detective started slightly, glanced quickly behind him, then back at Campbell. Parks’s expression suggested that he did not believe it. All the odds in the mental conflict of those first few mo- ments were against him. Campbell had planned the business; Parks was groping in an even greater darkness than I. “Good morning, Mr. Parks. Miss Van Huysen will be in presently. She has been telling me about last evening, and both she and the earl — Mason, you know—have been remarking how terribly like this Rob Roy chap I am. The earl says he’d swear to it in court, though the first time he saw Mac- Gregor he did not see the resemblance so closely. “Tt was rather dark, you know, and last night apparently MacGregor wasn’t wearing such hideous clothes — and that seemed to make all the difference. I wish you'd catch this double of mine and let me have a good look at him. How did you ever manage to let him get away like that?” Parks smiled, and there was a hint of admiration in it; but the cold light in his eyes told that the time for fen- cing with words had passed. ey guess he’s pretty much like you, Mr. Campbell. Slick, you know--and reckless. It don’t always pay to be too reckless, though, because—” I saw his right hand move. comnlicloooks.com