Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

| ' 940 your own conclusions. Thank vou for the loan of the polish, Pick. Ill pay you back at the end of the month. So long. I’m tooting to town.” Daphne! She had rushed every one of them—every bachelor on the post! It wasn’t the colonel who was inviting them to dinner. He was just his daughter’s mouthpiece. Daffy! Man-daffy, and everybody knew it and had been silently pitying Jim and perhaps censoring him. One moment he felt like fighting them * all—Red and the company clerk and the other gossips who couldn’t mind their own business. The next moment a sickening re- action seized him and he realized that it was he who had been the fool. Unless, as Red had so charitably sur- mised, he was in love with the girl. Was he? He didn’t know. It was a reluctant and puzzled Jim who appeared at the colonel’s door that evening with his ‘“‘ Howitzer’ under his arm. Daphne herself let him in. She wore pale peach organdie and about her there lurked the mysterious scent of some in- triguing perfume. From another room in the depths of the house came the rather high voice of Mrs. Blodgett, telling the colonel to take his neckties off her nice new bureau scarf. The colonel’s comments on this were not au- dible. “Oh, you’ve brought the ‘ Howitzer!’ ” exclaimed Daphne, much pleased. ‘‘ Come over and sit on the sofa and show it to me. I’m dying to see all those cunning cadets and especially you, Jim. I want to see you in your basketball outfit, the time you beat the navy.” Jim settled himself on the sofa beside her, defensively stiff. Daphne switched on the rosy floor lamp at her elbow and curled one foot under her with a luxurious sigh, peeping at the pages over Pickering’s ~ shoulder. She exclaimed with admiration at the various pictures of Flirtation Walk, the imposing gray chapel on the hill, the grim beauty of the riding hall with its fluted _ buttresses looking almost a part of the high river bank. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “Jim,” she said softly, there some day, aren’t we?” Pickering lifted his head, © startled. Daphne’s large blue eyes were on him, and in them he read impending surrender. Daphne was in love with him—at least, she would marry him. Confused, Jim sought refuge in a new page, pointing out to Daphne the pictures of the handsomest men in his class and de- scribing their virtues frantically. He had to think, and think fast. Daphne would marry him. The colonel and his wife, particularly his wife, would let her. Would their marriage be a good thing? It would, probably. Having the colonel for a father-in-law would make things pleasant for him in the army. And Daphne wasn’t such a bad look- er. Besides, how could he get out of it? They all expected him to marry her. Gosh, but he was in deep, and all because of an innocent delight in the colonel’s invitations to dinner. Yes, he supposed he would have to marry Daphne. He didn’t love her. He knew that now, absolutely. But how could he get out of it without ruining his career? Second lieutenants can’t turn down their colonels’ daughters with impunity. He’d just better let things take their course—just slide into this marriage with- out resistance or effort on his part. He thought with a romantic pang of his dreams of the girl that might have been— his own little femme that he would some day find and love. ‘That she was still in the world waiting for him he didn’t doubt: But she would have to wait in vain. Daphne was leaning nearer to him. Per- haps she sensed this sudden weakness in him and meant to take immediate advan- tage of it. * Oh, Jim,” she breathed, ‘“ don’t be afraid to speak. I know yow’re poor, but lots of people live on second lieutenants’ pay. And besides, daddy will keep on buy- “we're going ing my clothes. Oh, Jim, I know you love 3 me. > Jim took a last refuge in turning a final page before giving in to Daphne’ s soft in- sistence. The page was meaningless to him for a Gomichbooks G EO