Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

844 dragged off to jail. The fact that his own letter had not yet reached its destina- tion brought little comfort. In the morning, on his way to work, he found himself actually glancing over his shoulder; he felt as if he were being fol- lowed by cold-eyed sleuths. In the presence of Merle, he was un- comfortable and fidgety. He would have chosen to cut out the luncheon parties. But he dared not do anything which might indicate that something out of the ordinary had taken place. He took to drinking more than usual. Only when. he could feel the bracing effect of liquor did any degree of confidence as- sert itself. But with a few drinks under his belt and the calm assurance of Dost that all was secure, Harvey felt serene, al- most jubilant.: He was sparing with the booze, however, on the occasions when he ventured to call on Clare. Always he brought her flowers or sweets and seized every possible oppor- tunity of accompanying her to the hospital where her mother made steady, if slow, progress. He slept in his new room on two suc- cessive nights and made himself agreeable to his landlady, who confided to a neighbor that Mr. Wentworth, her new lodger, was a “splendid young man.” Once or twice he and Merle ran into one another at the Hollis home and Harvey ruthlessly stifled his annoyance and mount- ing jealousy. He could see that the girl was fond of Merle, but had no evidence that she favored the other more than him- self. At these times he was more convinced than ever that plenty of money would turn the scale. That was the way matters stood when a number of things happened at once. IX, TrousLe with a capital T stalked in the Wilmot office that Saturday morning. Out of a clear sky it came and spelled woe to more than one of the staff. A terse bulletin, posted in the anteroom informed the employees that the company had been merged with the Bechwith Library ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, Bureau and it was regretfully announced that a considerable percentage of the staff would not be required in the new organiza- tion! This, it was explained, cast no reflection whatever upon the characters or efficiency of those dropped; indeed, the selection of the unfortunates had been most difficult and painful. Those listed below would re- ceive two weeks’ extra pay from the cashier, aiter which they would be at liberty to look for new positions. That was the sub- stance of it. Boring into the snarl of humanity _ grouped about the bulletin board, Merle Wentworth learned of his hard luck. His name was on the list! And, rivals though they might be, Merle gleaned no consola- tion from the fact that Harvey, too, was out of a job! The whole establishment, as might be- expected, was in an uproar. Not outward- ly. But over fully half the desks and counters, low-toned conversations were in progress. Resentment, philosophical acceptance, despair—all of these had their part in the discussions. The telephones were choked with private calls while mother, brother, wife or sweetheart was told the worst. Harvey did not know exactly how to take the blow. For him, it did not matter greatly. Dost would keep him in funds until their coup had succeeded. But the fragments of decency which still clung precariously to his make-up rose in protest against this further punishment of his victim. And the strained look Merle wore when Harvey saw him did not help matters any. It is quite likely that the latter would have been, at that moment, satisfied to be quit of the whole affair. But he was in it now much too deeply for escape, so he set his lips and tried to laugh off, with Merle, the news contained in the bulletin. Merle was doing his best to take the jolt lightly, but at heart he was sick. In ordi- nary circumstances, it would have seemed tough but not particularly alarming; as it was, the thing was nothing less than tragic. Ever since Clare’s mother had been hurt, Merle had pinched every nickel that came GComicboo AA Ss (E(0)