Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 112: what you’re looking at

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

Mr. Bragg frowned. “Dammit! That’s just it!” he said tartly. “I’m not quite sure what I do mean, Vane. You're—you’re odd! In some ways, that is. You seem to have a certain amount of culture—and also a streak of the unspeakable bounder, in you. “You seem at times to be well-bal- anced; and at other times to be neurot- ically irresponsible as any lunatic Pve ever met, and I’ve met several. Just now you look and act the perfectly normal man; and yet ’m morally cer- tain that something weird and abnor- mal’s going on inside your head!” ee Why ai “1 don’t know, Vane! I don’t know why! ‘That’s what exasperates me!” cried Colonel Bragg. “ I—well, have your breakfast, Vane! Have your breakfast!” His puzzled eyes stabbed into Rich- ard and stabbed again, and drew no more than a wondering smile from that young man. The colonel shrugged his shoulders and strode out; and Mr. Mel- ton sighed and allowed the stony-vis- aged Haggin to seat him. And now Haggin had served him and—Lord! Here was Gwen, all smiles and sparkle and loveliness ! She slipped gracefully into the chair beside Richard and he shuddered. There was no getting away from it, you see; it was as far beyond his understanding as he himself was beyond the colonel’s; but the dread fact remained that plain, old-fashioned terror possessed him ev- ery time this beautiful creature hove in- to sight. “ Dicky, what did he say just now?” she breathed. “The colonel?” “Naturally! He—he’s jealous of our” “He didn’t say anything to indicate 5 “ But he did last night?” “Yes,” sighed Richard. “I believe that he had some such idea in as head last night.” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “Tsn’t it dear!” Gwen exclaimed ec- statically. “Oh, it’s perfectly darling,” Mr. Melton agreed grimly. “I wish you wouldn’t lean on me like that, Gwen. I’m not anxious to have him shoot me.” “Oh, he wouldn’t/shoot you. Not in cold blood. At least, I don’t think he would,” Gwen glittered deliciously. Mr. Melton’s lips tightened. “ Say! Last night—oh, what became of you last night, by the way ?” “Why, I just flittered down by the back stairs—even so, I didn’t miss Hag- gin by three seconds—and got myself a couple of books and came up the front way with a bored smile. I didn’t meet a soul, Dicky; Samson had gone into your room by that time. You were saying?” “T was just about to mention that he really did shoot at me last night. I don’t know whether it was in cold blood or not, but he sure did shoot!’ Gwen showed him all her dimples at once. “Yes, but you were trying to get out then, and that was silly. He didn’t real- ly hit you, Dicky ?” “Thank Heaven, no!’ “ Then that’s all right,” Mrs. Bragg said comfortably, with an entrancing tilt of her perfect head. “ Dicky, you have the loveliest thick hair.” Mr. Melton laid aside his fork. “ Pardon the question,” said he, “ but am I being vamped and, if so, why ?” “You're just being enjoyed, because you're such a dear boy,” Gwen in- formed him cheerily, although she did seem a trifle hurt. “I’m most awfully glad to have you here, Dick. I’ve been lonely and I like you a whole lot—and you know I do.”’ “It sounds ominous,”’ Richard ob- served. However, he glanced keenly at her. She was a conscienceless little devil, if one ever lived; yet some of this must be genuine. Maybe she really was lone- ly; maybe she really did like him enough not to desire his ruin; maybe, if See ae comicbooks Ss: Com.