Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

862 him out—arrest him! With a nervous cough, he hitched his chair forward. But Sewall Wright’s legs were never meant to mingle with those of a cafeteria table for two! They collided violently. The table shook—rocked; the glass of milk teetered precariously near its edge. Sewall lunged, made a frantic grab, and knocked it straight into the girl’s lap! There was a frightened little gasp—or was it a sob?—and the girl lifted to Sewall’s terrified gaze a face of the most abject and utter misery he had ever seen. Large brown eyes swimming with tears, tear-stained cheeks, a quivering red mouth—-he couldn’t bear it! He can’t tell you yet how he got to her side of the table, but there he was stooping over her, shaking her gently by the shoulder. ‘““Good Heaven!” he said. Please don’t cry. Damn it!” ‘Never mind,” she whispered. ‘ Don’t swear—it’s all right.” And as her eyes met his he felt his heart shimmying in his throat and his knees go watery. ‘Here, stand up,” he commanded husk- ily. Such a little, forlorn, helpless looking thing! ‘‘ Where’s your napkin? Let me wipe your dress—I’ve ruined it.”’ He kicked the fragments of glass over against the wall, mopped off the girl’s chair and forced her gently into it. Then he went for more milk. By the time they faced each other again over the tiled top the girl had dried her eyes, and Sewall’s heart had slipped ap- proximately back into place. ‘“ Hadn’t you better drink your milk?” he reminded her. He himself discarded two varieties of thick soup and chose a beef consommeé, ‘“T guess it would be safer,” she almost smiled. “Ves, a whole lot. I can’t seem to man- age this sort of thing very well. Don’t fit—too awkward.” ‘“T should think you’d be glad!” “What—glad I knocked your milk over?” ‘No, glad you don’t fit here. Ugh! I hate it! I hate everything about it!” She shuddered a little and her face grew grave again, “T’m sorry! ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. ‘Then why did you come here?” ‘“ Well—because I—I saw the raspber- ries!” She was a little defiant. ‘ That’s one thing you don’t hate, then.” ‘““No—I love them! You would, too, if you’d ever seen them growing wild in the pastures. These are only cultivated, but they make me think a little of—oh, cool winds and wild bees and fields that don’t have to be sprinkled to keep green and—” “And white birches and fresh running water,” Sewall added. ‘“Oh, you’ve been there! You aren’t a Westerner! I’m so disappointed—I thought you were a cowboy or a—a ranger probably. You know you do look a little like—please don’t be angry, but, really, you do some- how remind me of Bill Hart.” Sorry, I don’t know Bill.” “It’s not that you really look like him— you're just sort of the same type—big and brown and out of doors looking—just a typical Westerner!” “ Well, I hate awfully to be a disappoint- ment,’ there was real regret in Sewall’s tone, “but I’m from Maine, Oldtown, Maine.” ‘“ Oldtown! Why, I was born and raised in Bangor!” They fairly beamed at each other. ‘“‘ Bangor,” Sewall chuckled. “I used to get to Bangor once a year when I was a kid—circus day! Bangor was my idea of heaven then.” “It’s my idea of heaven right now.” The girl choked a little, and Sewall rushed into the breach. ‘“No wonder they call us ‘ Mainiacs’! Why in the world did you leave if you’re so fond of it?” A sudden shyness fell on her, but his eyes were very encouraging, “Well, you see, I won a—a sort of beauty contest in Penobscot County last month. All my friends—a lot of people, in fact—said they thought I'd be—they thought I could get into the movies. So I—I came out here. But I’ve been here nearly two weeks and you see I’m not in yet. I don’t know how to begin to try to get in! And I’m all—all alone and sort of homesick. And to-day these—these— raspberries—”’ oO Ccomicbooks CO