Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

DINNER FOR CYNTHIA. “How you do carry it off, miss!” he murmured. ‘“ There’s other things that’s criminal, too, though.” “What?” “Ves, miss,” Towner said very firmly. “And if you’ll pardon my saying so, Mrs. Stone means very well by you, and you’d ought to be very grateful, young lady. It ain’t every lady that ’d be as merciful as Mrs. Stone, in a case like this.” cs Bur—’ ‘““T fully expected she’d send for an of- ficer. She’d have done it if it had been any one else. It’s only that youre so young and—and got so much real good in you— that she’s acting like this, I’m sure. She said as much to me. J suggested that it might be as well to have your pal arrested, if he come back, and—” ‘“ My—my pal?” “Oh, he was back, and trying to get in, fine and formal as any gentleman you ever see!” the butler chuckled. ‘‘ Twice he asked for you on the telephone, and then he came himself.” “Vou mean the—the young man who came when I was playing?” Cynthia asked swiftly. “ The very one, miss—as you well know. And it was as good as a play when—” “When was he here?” “ Oh—it might be twenty minutes ago.” “What did he say?” “Why, only that he wanted to see you on urgent personal business,” the butler chuckled quite richly. ‘‘ Which was quite true, I take it, him not knowing that you had nothing at all to hand him. But it was rare to—”’ “ And what did you tell him?” Towner halted again—seemed almost an- noyed. “Just what Mrs. Stone ordered me to tell him, if he should turn up: that you’d decided not to see him any more or have anything to do with him.” “You dared—” Cynthia gasped. “Don’t look so black about it,” Towner said sharply. “It’s all for the best—and very extraordinary for Mrs. Stone to be taking sc much trouble, I assure you.” However, Cynthia had ceased her gasp- ing. One way or the other, it really mat- tered not at all. She was on her way out now! : BSS ae “Towner, -take me to Mrs. Ronalds!” Cynthia said crisply. “I beg pardon?” ** At once!” “ Well—may I ask what for?” ‘You may not,” replied the guest of the house, as patience snapped. ‘“‘ Take me to her immediately.” The butler shook his head dubiously. -_ ‘““It so happens that Mrs. Ronalds has retired,” he said. “If you'll give me your message, I'll give it to Mrs. Ronalds’s maid, and she’ll see if she’s still awake. If she’s not, it ‘Il have to wait till morning, Miss Blair. Mrs. Ronalds has great difficulty in sleeping, and she’s most particular about not being roused unnecessarily.” “ Really?” said Cynthia, and her fine little teeth bared in a furious smile. “ Then I'll give you the message, Towner, and if I haven’t the most definite kind of an answer inside of one minute I’ll start an excite- ment here that will keep her from sleeping for a month. You say to Mrs. Ronalds’s maid, and have her say to Mrs. Ronalds, that I’ve suffered all I mean to suffer at the hands of her very unfortunately af- flicted mother, Say that I demand that that poor lady be placed under proper restraint at once—and that I demand that I be re- leased from this house at once—and that once I’m out of here, if Mrs. Stone isn’t kept away from anything and everything that concerns me, there'll be more trouble than this fool household ever knew be- fore!” The butler ceased blinking and scratch- ing his ear, and adjusted his glasses. : “Well—the reasoning of it, everything considered, I don’t quite get, miss,” he sub- mitted, “ except that you’re pretending to think Mrs. Stone is insane?” “Think it! Of course she is! And it’s perfectly outrageous to permit a woman like that to—” ‘““ She’s not, miss,” far from that.” “Oh!” Cynthia snapped. ‘* But it chances that I know, miss,” the butler persisted. “‘ The lady herself brought | up the question, it must be two years back said Towner. “ She’s oO Mgt eS i Oe Fe com choo iS co Se = See. — —™ at