Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 19, 1924 — page 146: what you’re looking at

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

BAT Ad Pak Maisie) > 616 changed a glance of understanding and dazed bewilderment besides, and Maddox, deathly white, regarded what might have been if Corvan had not stayed his vengeful hand. Then there followed a disturbance which continued in a wild delirium of sound for long minutes. It was hardly interrupted by the announcement of Judson Fiske, made at the request of an urgent, happy couple, that Corvan would stay on at the old Humphrey place, and that Margaret Fiske would share his home with him. And after that announcement it arose more lustily than ever. A vast spirit of happiness and goodwill swayed the company to a degree that amazed Corvan and held Wade spellbound. Neither man had ever known to what heights. simple happiness could rise. Wade moved, surrounded by a multitude of grateful people who, not having remote- ly understood his cryptic utterances, never- theless divined that he had voluntarily released some mystic hold upon their idol. If they could have seen him in the few moments during which he withdrew to hold conclave with his three henchmen in the hallway, they would have had nothing of thanks to offer him. While Corvan remained in his place at the head of the table, with Margaret and Harold Trench on either side of him, sur- rounded by Maddox and the Martins, the Humphreys and the Trenches, the center of a group of loved ones who gave him an atmosphere his life had never known be- fore—while old Humphrey chuckled with glee as he announced that the Fiske mort- gage had been made over to his grandson Harold, whom he roguishly guessed would be a hard taskmaster—and while Harold himself sat silent, devouring with his clear -eyes one face, one single man—Wade dis- missed his henchmen in the hallway. “It’s all off,” he said, biting his words impatiently. ‘ You’d better get back to town quick. I'll see that you’re fixed up all right.” : ‘““Tt’s just as well,” nodded Welsh. “I always said that Broderick would have hushed it up. It isn’t as if he had died—” “All right,” said Wade hurriedly. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “Well, it ain’t,” insisted Welsh. “If Broderick had kicked off, we’d ’a’ had Corvan clean. But he didn’t, and he’d ’a’ squelched your case for yer.” ‘All right,—all right,” cried Wade. ‘Now go.” And they went. CHAPTER XLII. THE SEA SINGS TO THE SANDS. HE truth of the matter was—and Wade tried to explain it to them later —the truth of the matter was that in the dining room that evening, and by virtue of the words that were spoken and the manner in which they were said, Wade had found a new life, and a new Corvan in the center of it. Wade was not more wholly bad than any man in the world. He had deeply desired to crush Corvan, to ruin him, er even mur- der him, because he saw in Corvan only a crook who for love of a woman would dou- ble-cross and betray his comrades. That was an unforgivable sin in the code of Wade and his ilk, But at the table that night he had seen a new Corvan, the center of a world which was as high above the world Wade knew as heaven is above hell. And he saw this world as it bowed its head to Corvan. He had wondered at that. He had been as- tounded at the depths of idiocy to which these rubes could sink. And yet he had been moved. He had been uneasy. And then Harold Trench had entered, and Wade, even without having seen the boy in his deplorable idiocy, could sense the miracle that had been wrought. He saw the new Corvan in that moment with clear vision— and he could not break that Corvan. This he tried rather lamely to tell them after the party was over and the crowd had gone. They sat in the living room, whither they had gone after bidding their guests farewell. The last to go had been Maddox, intent on seeing Sally Martin safely home. He had spoken hurried, in- coherent words to Wade before going, but Wade had understood. He paled at the knowledge of how close death had been to EOmMmichbooks: co