Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 4, 1925 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

808 grinned at her, his blue eyes suspiciously wet. “ If you’re bowled over,” he answered, ‘coming on me in the jungle this way, what do you think J feel—and I haven’t seen a white countenance in six months, not to speak of one as pleasant to observe as yours is!’”’ He shook her hand a time or two, then bent and impulsively kissed it. ‘Philip! Philip!” And now there were tears in her eyes. “ Angel out of Heaven!” he retorted. “For the first two seconds after I heard your voice, I thought sure that I was hav- ing a touch of fever. Or seeing something funny, and you know a man does see funny things sometimes in the jungle.” She laughed. ‘I wonder you know me. You know, I was in pigtails when I saw you last—three years ago it was, when I came down from school for Thanksgiving. You danced with me. Do you remember?” ‘IT remember. JI hear the girls don’t wear pigtails any more, Marcia. They’ve all cut their hair short. Except you.” He bent to look under the hat. She shook her head. net,” she laughed. “Tm up and in a “Uncle says I'm old- fashioned.” “Uncle?” He grew grave again. “I haven't asked who’s with you. I’ve been too overcome. Or how everything ts. Your father—” He looked swiftly around. ‘““ Philip, I’ve lost daddy,” she said, and took her underlip in her teeth. “T’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Now he took her hand in both of his. ‘I sort of sensed it. That’s why you’re traveling, isn’t it— to get away after the first shock?” She nodded. ‘The separation’s been awfully hard to bear,” she admitted. “ Also, after father went, such a lot of wor- ries and responsibilities came up. All of them, taken with his loss, was more than I could face, somehow, so—” She waved her free hand at the river. ‘Worries and responsibilities are sure to come, of course, to a girl who’s been left a big fortune. Well, up here life is simple. Also, there’s a lot to see of one kind and another.” ‘“T always wanted to travel—was always wild about it,’ she went on. ‘So when father was gone, I wouldn't sit down in ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. New York, and I was tired of going abroad. Maybe I wanted to get away from nearly every one I knew—yes, that was partly it. I wanted strange places, some way or other, and new experiences, and as Uncle Chiches- ter was willing to—” “ Uncle Chichester? in the family.” ‘You never met him, probably. Be- longs on mother’s side, and when he heard what had happened he hurried several hun- dred miles to do anything he could, and it’s been a real comfort to have him. He's lovable, and jolly, and travels with never a grunt.” She laughed again. ‘““Good! Suppose he’d broken down under the suit cases away back yonder in San Francisco, or Honolulu? I’d never have seen you on the banks of this muddy water. Let’s hope uncle will go crazy over Borneo jungles and head-huniers!”’ ‘“ He simply eats up this having a troop of servants ready to hop at a word. Real- ly, it’s too funny! He’s having the time of his voung life!”” She laughed merrily. Until now, standing, he in the water and she in her prax, the two had been too sur- prised at their unexpected meeting to think of anything else but it, and the welcome sight of each other. Now Lansdell remein- bered the Dyaks crowding at his back, staring and smiling and whispering among themselves: he turned and, still giving one hand to steadying Marcia, addressed a few words to their audience, using the Dyak tongue. ‘Fancy your talking a jungle lan- cuage!”’ she exclaimed when he turned back to her. ‘‘ What did you tell them?” “That you are a great sultana, and the daughter of a great sultan, and I also said, because—if you don’t mind—it will do me no end of good while I’m working among ’em, I said, also, that you had come up the water road to visit your humble servant.” “I’m glad you did. It’s the truth, too. Anyhow, if I'd heard you were up here, nothing would have kept me from coming. Kecause—” She broke oft and looked over the heads of the crowd, to see whether or not the other two white men of the expe- dition were returning. ‘‘ Before they come back, Philip,” she began again, hurriedly, That's a new one Conn GIOok