Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 114: what you’re looking at

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8 ? oo ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. lest he should. He told me enough about his stock manipulations to damn him, ruin him forever among reputable financiers if aay one could have proved his trickery. He gloried in it! ‘There could have been nothing in his business career, no one of those whose failure lay virtually at his door who could have caused that fear, and yet I could always feel the shadow of it, like a wall between us!” a ““ Mebbe he didn’t never give you a actual hint, sleepin’ or wakin’, ma’am, as to the party he thought was goin’ to try to murder him some day, but didn’t you ever kinder suspicion yourself who he might have reason to be afeered 0’?”’ Geoff asked. ‘*‘ Couldn’t you put two and two together and figger it out? Ain’t you got no notion who ’twas?” Zoe Dawn shook her head wearily. ‘T used to think and think about it till it seemed as if I should go mad! The very fact that he dared not tell even me made it appear a vital, living menace in my eyes. Sometimes I feared that I should pick up the paper one day and read what—what I actually did read last week. Only now it has ceased to matter.” Her lips twisted in a faint smile, but the suffering in her eyes belied it. “ T would help you more if I could, please believe that. If I had a definite suspicion I would voice it, but I only know that he foresaw this and dreaded it!”’ “Miss Dawn, will you tell the doc and me who you really are and where you come from?” Geoff regarded her mildly, but there was a deepened gravity in his tone. “Who were your folks and where are they now?” Dr. Hood looked his surprise, and the woman roused herself from her apathy and returned the pseudo deputy’s gaze with a curious, faintly amused expression. ““ Mr. Peters, there are certain persons in this country—quite a small army of them and remarkably well organized—whose duty and purpose in life it is to find out about other people just what you have asked me. The cleverest of them were at one time de- tailed to trace my origin, my antecedents, to learn whatever they could about me be- fore I had appeared in a particular city— and they discovered nothing. ; host demanded. ‘When I told the medical examiner and you that I would answer any questions you liked I meant, of course, anything relative to Mr. Benkard and his attentions to me, any light that I could possibly throw upon his death. As for me, I am Zoe Dawn, I came to New York from Washington, where I had lived for several years and where | am doubtless remembered still. That is all.” Zoe Dawn paused; then rose to her feet. Neither man spoke. Slowly she said: ‘ Living, I was sure that I hated him. I would have crushed the ambition for which he put me aside. Now that he is dead I—I would give anything in the world to bring him back, even if I were never to see him, never to hear his name! Ruthless and crooked he may have been to others, cruel and heartless to me at the last, but he was my mate! I have realized it more fully since I came into this room than at any mo- ment since his death. Are—are there any more questions you wish to ask? It is late and I—I am very tired.” “No, ma’am.” Geoff had already got to his feet, and as the doctor turned the light switch in the wall he added: “ If somethin’ should come up that you could help us ’bout and you wouldn’t likely care to have us comin’ to your house it ‘ll be all right if the doctor calls you up on the telephone?” In the crude, yellow glare from the elec- tric bulbs the woman seemed to have aged years since their meeting at the crossroads before the sun went down. As though real- izing this herself he hurriedly drew down her veil while she replied: ‘“ Any day, any hour that Dr. Hood sends for me I shall come.” She held out her hand, and Geoff shook it awkwardly, then remained where he was while the doctor bustled out to light up the porch and escort his visitor to her car. After an interval it drove off through the darkness and the doctor returned to find Geoff still standing where he had left him. His jaw had dropped, and below the shock of sandy hair which fell over his forehead his lack-luster eyes stared vacantly into space. “ Hey, what’s the matter with you?” his “Have you taken root? Gomichbooksrecom