Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 112: what you’re looking at

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

582 the wood where some tall brush grew. brush screened her, and she sat there for until she reached a wall. _ stealthily along the wall she reached the the room. = | 2 up the reins and urged the horse forward — until she reached a point at the edge of The some time with all her senses alert, — to detect the unusual. 2 The house was now outlined fo her against a background of star haze that had a greenish-yellow, phosphorous. light, and she observed that the house was a one story _affair with a low, flat roof. It had, she felt, only two rooms. One was dark, while the light she had been seeing shone ee a - window of the other. There was a low, rambling porch across” the front of the house, which faced east- ward, and she could distinguish the slender, erooked poles which, answering as cs -supported the roof. Back of the house she could see the dim tracery of a fence. From a point off to her right she could hear a calf bleating. In the wood behind her were the indescribable. noises of the timber deni- zens; to her ears from a distance came the chrill barking of coyotes. She was frightened. She sat, fighting an impulse to wheel her horse and return to the Circle ‘Dot. At this instant she re- --gretted starting on the trip when. she had. She might- have waited until the dawn, though she knew that if she had waited Fagin would” not have permitted her to leave. By. concentrating Nellie Porter she succeeded in conquering her fear, and at last she dismounted, trailed the reins over the head of the horse and walked toward the house. - She felt she was now lost—unless this. house was in Willets- —but she did not intend to reveal herself to the inhabitants of the dwelling until she made an effort to discover what kind of peo- ple they were. She moved to the rear of the building Making her way window through which the light came. A- bush with heavy foliage grew beside the window and, screened a that, she peered into the room. The light came from a kerosene lamp upon a big, rough table near the center of = man sat on one corner of the | ARGOSY-ALLSTORY ‘as Grecian. WEEKLY. ne One- of his legs was drawn under him, the other. dangled almost to the floor. He was facing the window thr ough which Edna was watching. ~ His left arm was bent ACrOSs his chest, the hand caught under the right armpit: the right arm was crooked at the elbow, the fora perpendicular, the hand was at his chin, and a thumb and forefinger ‘were engaged in pressing his lower lip, the finger on one side, the thumb on the other. _ The man’s gaze seemed to be fixed Jirect- _ly on the window at which Edna was watch- ing, and she quickly dodged back, fearful that he had seen her. But when after an interval. she heard no sound she looked - again, to see that he was still sitting in the same position, his gaze still on the window. He was in deep thought. His gaze was introspective and he did not see the win- dow at which he appeared to be looking. He was tall, handsome, distinguished. His complexion was that which Edna had heard described as “ sandy.’ He had a good chin, a broad forehead, a nose of the type known Edna, thought his mouth was a trifle laree and his. dips a little too. full. _ But his hair interested her; his hair aad his eyes. The eyes were dreamy. although big and clear. They were the eyes of a Beet or a lazy man. They lacked the keen hardness of the alext- captain of business, and yet they had fire in them, the fire of her thoughts upon deep, intense thought. — glint of recklessriess Also, they held a Just now the man was lost in thought, but Edna felt that when aroused he must be a commanding figure. His hair was a rich, dark red. It was wavy and abundant. When Edna had first looked in through the window at him a fiery lock had dropped over his forehead, giving him a singularly rakish appearance. His age Edna felt she was not competent to determine, though she was certain he could not be more than thirty. He was arrayed in a flannel shirt of dark gray with a high, turn-down collar, well- worn black leather chaps, soft-top boots, spurs, cartridge belt, pistol. There was a knife sheath in the left leg of the chaps. His broad brimmed hat = on the table | beside him. : : There was another man in the room. He 3 -_comicbooks