Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 97: what you’re looking at

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

to« ‘Pride of |yson, b/ John Frederick. Auther of “Cressroads,” “Luck,” ete. PRECEDING CHAPTERS BRIEFLY RETOLD Cr rough and uncouth, bad brought with him te the Chiluah Valley Dam Henry Tyson, brother of the girl he worshiped at a distance. Garth’s secret motive was that Tyson’s presencé would bring thither the girl of his dreams. Tyson, for his part, was obsessed with the desire to condition himself by work on the dam so that he could take his revenge for the defeat he had sustained in a friendly bout with Garth. And at his own insistence he had contracted to exist for six months on his wages as a day laborer. . | : __ During a period of near-starvation, when he had foolishly purchased a gorgeous necktie which appealed to his imagination, Tyson met Rona Carnahan, engaged to Kennedy, a gambler. Rona told him of a curious legend which ran that whoever should see the “ face’ of the mountain of La Cabeza would either die within the year or marry the girl of his dreams. But Rona had bestowed the tie on Kennedy, and now, as he carried a bottle of whisky which the girl had bought for her father, he accidentally smashed it. Rona leaped at him with a knife, but at the sound of church bells her hand dropped; she begged his forgiveness. Then, together, they went to her father, who, with Padre Miguel, the girl’s confessor, greeted them with old-world courtesy. This, however, the priest gone, vanished in an insane wrath at the news of the breaking of the bottle, to be in turn soothed by the playing of the old man’s violin. Tysen took his leave, ‘and, following a visit at his room from Kennedy, who slapped his face, warning him away from Rona, Tyson, at Kennedy's gambling hell, won back from the latter the ¥tvid tie which he had presented to the girl. ° . _ Meanwhile, at Garth’s office suddenly appeared Margaret Tyson, who, after bewildering the big man with her beauty and poise, and making him feel more than ever uncouth, went to the boarding-house to find her brother. A climb up the odorous stairs was followed by a knock * at the door, and the disclosure of an amazing figure—amazing, at least, to the girl. -She recovered slowly from the shock. That wavering, gaunt-faced man was not the one she knew. He was not clean. CHAPTER XXIV. at her. There was no mirror to make him understand her horror. | . “What’s all this pity about?” Tyson NDEED, he showed that he had been said, frowning a little. ‘ But, oh, it’s good through the fire. For the long test to see you. Don’t stand so horrified. I’m through which he had just passed nota ghost. Gad, I’m hard as iron!” showed plainly. And how could she tell the He flexed his arms to try his muscles, leanness of hard training and gaunt mus- and smiled down at her. Now that the cles, and the staggering of sleep, from the sleep was leaving him, he could see her meagerness of starvation and the weakness clearly for the first time, and as they sat THE BUILDER. i} of undernourishment? | down, he rested his head against the back ‘‘ Hal!” Margaret cried, “what in the of the chair and feasted his eyes upon her. - name of Heaven have you been doing?” She was all that he had been missing, to - - Then her arms were around his neck. Tyson. She was a breath of fresh air, a ‘* Hal, dear,” she said over and over, her vision which he had almost forgotten in the waice beginning to tremble with grief and sweat and slime of the cement house. anger, “‘what have they been doing to - “ Hard day,” he explained, “and I hit you?” | the bed without changing my clothes. He extricated himself slowly and stared Awfully fagged, you see.” This story began in The Argosy for July 3. 379 Mone a) NOT T Original froma NG | Digitized by Go ogle 7 THE OHIO STATE J ne wits DG ad