Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 60: what you’re looking at

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

566 “\ showed her yellow fangs, and gazing at the ceiling, shook a gnarled fist at it. “Pound, ye old divil!” ‘she muttered. “ Much good may it do ye.” The floor timbers of the Pritchett — were solid, the planks hand hewn and well over two feet wide. In a modern house or apartment, Elmer might have made quite a ruction; have sent flakes of kalsomine down, jarred vases from their place, rat- tled glasses on their shelves. Here, his frantic pounding was futile, and soon died away in intermittent taps as his arm tired. Silence descended upon the house. He was no fool. He was greatly sur- prised, having had no inkling that his sis- ters were growing tired of waiting upon him; but he realized that they were trying to force his hand—or rather his legs—bv witholding his meals until he got up and came down-stairs for them. Well — he’d ' show them! He disposed his limbs as com- fortably as possible and tried to go asleep. again. He had slept his fill, however. Besides, his brain was active with resentment, and above all he was hungry. His overeating created a false desire, so that he seemed to be even hungrier than he really was. His meals had been served regularly as clock- work. Half an hour later his sisters entered a second time. He had not heard them until the door opened. He noticed for the first time that they were dressed in black. — ‘I want my victuals!” he bawled, be- . fore they were fairly within the room. “ What you think you’re doing, anyhow?” Neither answered him, nor indeed looked his way. Letty, however, spoke to her elder. “T feel as if he were right here now,” she breathed: ‘“‘ As if he might speak out loud, any minute.”’ Hetty did not reply, but went directly to the fireplace. She carried a tin pail, and ‘Elmer watched her curiously. First laying down an old newspaper, she carefully spread her black silk skirt and knelt down, and began to shovel the cold ashes into the pail. When she had finished, she swept and garnished the hearth carefully with a turkey wing. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. house.’’ As she rose and lifted her pail, a black cat entered the room. He mare up to the bed, and with the light, effor€ grace of his kind, leaped upon it. ' Elmer did not like cats very well. | now he did not like anybody or anyth “Scat!” he yelled, striking at the 4 mal, which, its tail swelling, sprang to4 floor and rushed from the’ room. ‘Did you notice how queer old 7 acted, Hetty? Just as if he saw sometk invisible to our eyes.” ‘“‘ They say cats can sense things we ni tals can’t. Grandma used to say that i house was haunted, a cat could always t And you know how we always keep locked out when there’s a body in > Following the cat, the sisters left room, which was by now quite chilly. “When you going to stop this blameg: foolishness and git me something to ea Want me to starve to death, or git Pree mony, or—” , The door closed on Elmer’s unfini ! sentence. He thumped his pillow ii and resumed his watchful waiting. Never had a day. passed so slowly in the Pritchett home. The sun seemed to stand still in the heavens, the sharply defined shadows upon the unsullied snow not to | lengthen. It seemed that the very clock pendulum hung poised, defying the law of gravitation. Dinner came, and was eaten in a silence broken only by the strident. comments of the unfeeling Nancy Hines. | No sound of thumping cane issued from the room above, where Elmer lay plotting darkly. ° Not one of them went near his chamber that afternoon, and as the sun sank—even though it seemed not to move—the room became colder and colder. In her kitchen, Nancy sang doleful hymns in an excruci- ating falsetto. The sisters wandered aim- lessly about, or sat listlessly by the sitting- room fire, fancy work idle in their hands, the village weekly unread on the table. They spoke seldom, and sighed often. Neither of them could eat any supper. The thought of the hungry brother lying alone in his cold room kept them from do- ing more than pick at the fricasseed cur OL Ber ginal a AGO HOO) <S_ (CO) (SC >)