Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 143: what you’re looking at

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

OUT OF THE WORLD FOR A WHILE. into his tone, “I have been wondering out here if you’d sell a little stock in the Sea- grave company. I don’t know of anything that would have more steadying influence on me than knowing that I was a stock- holder in the company my father had built up.” “Why, yes,” she said. ‘Id be glad to sell you stock. We'll arrange it to-morrow. Would you also like to take Olmey’s place in the foundry? He was a sort of mechanical superintendent.” ““ What’s Olney going to do?” “Oh, he has a girl in Chicago,” Ruth said. “‘ He’s going back to her. He seemed to feel that his work here was done.” “Why, I thought—Holmes thought—” “No, he didn’t care for me in that way,” Ruth said. ‘“‘ You were all mistaken.” ‘“‘ There’s one girl in Chicago that will get a good man,” Seagrave said. “ Well, good night, Ruth. We workingmen must get our rest.” He laughed. ‘ Arthur,” Ruth said, “you make me think more and more of the boy you used to be.” Then she fled indoors. Seagrave went down the street with a light step. At that same time Olney was entering the railroad station. There was a look of grim resignation on his face. “ New York, one way,” he told the ticket seller. And so he went into the East, taking his love for Ruth Seagrave with him. CHAPTER XIII. A JOLT FOR ALLISON. N the next Thursday night Allison, Miller, and those two other precious henchmen of Allison’s, Brown and Horton, were sitting in a room in an apart- ment just off Tenth Street. Allison had always prided himself on his ability to get away if the police, as they had once or twice, threw a net out for him. One of his favorite tricks was to have two places of residence. In Hartwell he had lived openly at the leading hotel and had kept this apartment, unknown to any one 933 except those immediately associated with him. It was one of the oldest apartment houses in town and it had an indifferent janitor service and no elevator. There was no one to notice the comings and goings of the gentleman in suite five. So long as he paid his rent, no one cared what he did. From Miller Allison had learned that a Federal operative had been ready to place Miller under arrest if Ruth had completed the deal which Allison and the police and the Federal authorities had expected her to complete. When Miller had reported, Alli- son had seen that his open career in Hart- well was ended. In order to attract Ruth he had taken her into his confidence. He saw that she had been playing with him, waiting shrewdly to get the lease that she wanted. Now that she had the lease, she would expose him to the authorities. Allison had been dumfounded when Mil- ler had returned from his errand. He had berated Miller for having given the lease, but Miller had pointed out to him that it had been better to take what they could get. Miller had used his judgment and had exercised the power of attorney which Alli- son had given him and he thought he had exercised it intelligently. He knew when to stand from under if Allison didn’t, he said. “Why, that woman is the biggest crook IT ever had any dealings with,” Allison fumed. ‘““T don’t see it,” Miller sneered. ‘ She merely said, as politely as you please, that she was not interested in rubber stock, but that she would buy our lease. I couldn’t even present any of our pet arguments to her. She knew as much about the company as I did. J gathered that she had taken everything you had told her and had put her own construction on it. I think she was laughing at you, Allison, for having tried to hook her for a sucker. Anyway, she’s smart and if she knows anything you better duck to cover while you can.” : So Allison, mad with rage, had fled to his other residence. Miuller had come there in the night and Brown and Horton had showed up at daylight next morning. They had been to Cleveland in a fast automobile and had called up the district attorney to COMmcooolkxs CO