Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 112: what you’re looking at

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738 he added, tightening the lines; “ you’d bet- ter listen to my advice and—”’ “And not do anything?” cried Dick. “Why, confound it, I’ve delayed too long already. I’m going in now to call up the sheriff, or whatever it is you have here.” “All right,” returned Bradley without enthusiasm. ‘“‘ But I don’t calculate it ‘Il do much good. Now don’t get down-heart- ed about it,” he added, with the evidently kindly intention of cheering Dick up. “ Maybe they’ll turn up all right after all, and Ill stop on my way back. Good-by.” Graham watched the old man drive slow- ly away, his feelings about equally divided between anger and gratitude, laughter and tears. Then he entered the house. But in the kitchen he was suddenly ar- rested by an unexpected sound; from the dining room came the gentle clicking of silver against china, and for a moment he stood quite still, more startled than he would have cared to admit. Then he sprang silently to the door. But it was only the big yellow cat, fru- gally engaged in saving the deserted break- fasts from being a total loss. Irritated at his own nervousness, Dick drove her an- grily away to the kitchen, where she sat eying him with an expression of mingled reproach and injured dignity. Then he closed the door and hurried to the tele- phone. He had been calling “ Hello!” and jig- gling the hook for five minutes before he discovered that the instrument was of the old type, requiring the ringing of the bell to reach central, and he had just hung up the receiver and had his hand on the bell, when he was again startled, this time by a very human cough. - With an exclamation, he turned quickly. - Leaning on the closed lower half of the front door, her black curls framing a clean- cut sun-browned face, on which sympa- thetic appreciation of the gravity of the situation struggled with amusement at Gra- ham’s obvious and audible disgust, was a girl. If. | GraHAm’s first thought was that the lost family had returned, and that this was ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. Elinor, but at once he remembered that his brother had described his young wife as possessing ash-gold hair and blue eyes. This girl was decidedly dark, almost Spanish in coloring; a simple blue cham- brey dress set off her slender, graceful fig- ure to advantage, and an old fashioned sun- bonnet of the same hue hung by its strings around her neck. Whoever she was she was a decidedly pretty girl, and as she flushed slightly under his steady scrutiny, Dick became suddenly aware that he had been staring almost rudely. ‘““T beg your pardon,” he began, a trifle embarrassed, going toward her slowly, “I thought at first you were Elinor—my sister- in-law, you know.” The girl smiled, disclosing very perfect, very white and even teeth. “No,” she replied in a rich contralto, “ I am Ruth—Ruth Bradley; I met father down the road and he told me about—about what has happened. I am afraid he has been alarming you with the foolish gossip about this house.” Dick laughed a trifle shamefacedly; some- how the vivid, very human personality, the glowing health and vitality of the girl, made his indefinite, half-formulated fears seem absurdly childish. - “TI wish he dad told me of the gossip,” he replied, opening the door and stepping out on the porch, “ I think his dark sugges- tions and vague hints alarmed me more than would actual facts. Won’t you sit down and enlighten me, Miss Bradley.” “There really isn’t much to tell,” re- turned the girl, taking the chair he drew forward. “I don’t know why every one about here is so silly. They are hard- headed, intelligent, matter-of-fact people enough about most things, but so far as the Dennet place is concerned they are as superstitious as their witch-baiting ancestors of two hundred and fifty years ago—though most of them have the grace to be ashamed of it, and won’t admit it openly.” “They must have some foundation for their beliefs, though,” suggested Graham tentatively. “Well, I suppose they have,” returned the girl thoughtfully. ‘‘ Some queer things (EO [MMICELOOO KSq(EO) LALA