Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 88: what you’re looking at

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

510 “What's the matter with it?” “ Nothing,” Gerald answered vigor- ously. “ But I can’t understand a girl of your type wearing that kind of a bathing suit. Why do you wear a bath- ing suit like that and the kind of clothes you wear?” ‘Because,’ she answered, “ we didn’t go in swimming in the convent I went to. But we did wear clothes. Don’t you think bathing suits ought to be practical? I don’t wear a swimming suit to be looked at; I wear it to swim in. And I'd rather you didn’t look at me.” “You might try burning my eyes out with a red hot poker,” Gerald sug- gested. “ That might stop me from looking, I should think Lester Colton would get after you. He makes you wear long dresses. Hasn’t he ever criticized your bathing suits?” “‘He never saw me in a swimming suit,’ Susan truthfully answered. “ When he does,” said Gerald, sadly, “vou had better have a pulmotor handy. Never in my life have I seen a ir}—”” a Susan had dived. It was a swan, and Gerald followed her in. When her face emerged close beside him, Gerald asked: : “Does Lester make you wear your hair long, too?” “He likes my hair long, yes.”’ “Tt’s beautiful hair,” Gerald ad- mitted. “Ts Eulalie’s hair bobbed?’ Susan wanted to know. “Oh, yes.” “You prefer your women modern, don’t you? Let’s swim in. Shall we work on the speedboat this afternoon?” “T always lie in the sun an hour after my afternoon swim,” Gerald answered. They swam to the beach, and Susan, reminding Gerald very much of a lively, beautiful young seal, stretched out on the sand beside him, She wanted very much to have Gerald make love to her, but her New England con- ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. science wouldn’t let her. It wasn’t fair to compete with a girl who wasn’t here. A sail on the horizon momentarily terrified her. Suppose Uncle Ham and Uncle Jethro were coming back for her! But the sail drifted on and pres- ently drifted over the rim of the world; and Gerald was looking at her as no engaged young man should look at an engaged girl, so she sprang up and ran into the bungalow, with Gerry looking at her with eyes that might readily have set the blue swimming suit on fire. Gerald dressed, and when Susan re- appeared she was wearing overalls; overalls spotted with white paint and gray deck paint, and a blue denim shirt unbuttoned at the neck, She had her hair done up in a new way that almost paralyzed Gerald. Every time he saw her, it seemed to him, she was more beautiful; every time she changed into new garb she was a different girl. “What are we going to do now?” asked the young man, with misgivings. “IT thought we were going to clean the carbon out of your speedboat’s engine.” “ Haven’t we done enough work for to-day?” he gasped. “I came down here to loaf, Sue.” “T hate loafers,” said Sue. “ Get into your overalls and 1’ll meet you in the boat shed.” When he reached the boat shed a few minutes later, Susan was unscrew- ing the last of the cylinder head bolts on the port engine, and the spark plugs of that block were ranged in a neat little row on the work bench. “You're altogether too accom- plished,” he told her. ‘‘ Where did you ever learn about marine engines?” “TI was the chief engineer of the Lottie Lee for two years,” was Susan’s pert reply. ‘“ Besides, I’ve studied books on marine gas engines. This is a pretty good engine, but in dreadful condition,” “It hasn’t been touched since last winter,’ he apologized. 3 - OO-KSaC m_