Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

THE WAY OF THE BUFFALO. jon, there is little choice between your hair and your eyes. Now your eyes are—” “You will please net speak of my eyes, either, Mr. Cameron!” “Jim, if you please,” he said. “*‘ Mr. Cameron’ sounds toe stiff and formal— don’t you think?” “Still it will always be Mr. Cameron. We are going to be enemies—always, I hope!” “Well, just as you say. Still, I think I should rather have my enemy call me‘ Jim’ than ‘Mr. Cameron.’ And * always’ is a long, long time.” She looked very straight at him and her eyes were searching and cold and scornful. “ You are accustomed to having your own way, aren’t you, Mr. Cameron?” “We all like to have things turn out the way we plan them, Virginia. “Miss Ballantine, if you please! ” she re- buked. ‘Pardon me,” he said gently. “I just wanted to hear how it sounded. I shall be calling you that again, I think.” “li you do, I shall go into the house, Mr. Cameron!” “Tt surrender,” he said. He was silent, although he watched her, observing the warm color in her cheeks, She was not as: angry as she thought, he decided. “JT think you are a very forward per- n,” she declared at length, “and pre- ee * Sull, I don’t think I should shoot a hole in anybody’s hat without giving some warning,” he smiled, ‘““T did that because you were pretend- ing,” she asserted. “1m sorry I did it. But you had no business looking at me like thate ‘“ Like what?” “ As you—did.” “Vou mean I shouldn’t have admired your Why, I just simply couldn’t help it, Virginia.” ‘Miss Ballantine!” she corrected. - “ Ves: Miss Ballantine. Why, I couldn’t help it any more than I can help it now, I wasn’t pretending. You are very beautiful, Virginia.” She got up and stood as at him - disdainfully, - cause I took snap judgment. 533. ‘““T suppose you can’t help it,” she said. ** {—I think you are one of those men who believe they have only to reach out to take anything they want. Perhaps you are not to blame. You-are wealthy, and I presume you have never been denied anything. As a result you come heah and imagine you can. take what you want without asking for it. I warn you that you will discover you are mistaken!” He shook his head. “T’ve made mistakes,” he said; “ griev- ous ones. But they have been made be- I have had plenty of time to consider what I want, now, , Virginia. Almost a week. Four days, to be exact. I find myself wanting what I want just as much as on the first day I saw you. “Don’t think I want an answer now, Virginia,” he added as she blushed crimson and looked at him with a scornful smile. “Tm very patient. I just wanted you to know.” She laughed mockingly as she opened the screen door. | Cameron saw her gaze sweep past him; saw her eyes widen as she caught her breath and steod rigid. He turned slowly, to see Ballantine standing near the edge of the porch, hands on his hips, looking at him. CHAPTER VII. THE CHALLENGE. ALLANTINE’S eyes were something like they had been on the day he had stood near the courthouse door, looking at Judge Gray. No one could fathom: the blue depths of them to determine what pas- sions they concealed. Nor could Cameron at this instant be certain there was any pas- sion in them at all. : They had the pellucid and baffling vacuity of the eyes of an eagle, and they gave the same disconcerting impression of intense fixity, of all-seeing power. - Camer- on was convinced that there was no pas- sion in them at all—only intense alertness and confidence. ? — Ballantine wore no hat. Involuntarily, Cameron glanced toward the stable, to see =-COMiIcbooks