Argosy (UK), January 1955 — page 24: what you’re looking at

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

eS eS I ee Fae = —=-9 a - 22 ae Sets FABRICIUS of luxuriant hair hung heavily down over her neck; against its "8 deep, velvety blackness gleamed a silver pin—or was it a little _ white flower? > = Full, bare shoulders, which shone with a soft sheen in the eS electric light of the verandah, stood out in a rounded, flowing line against the tropical night. True—he could now form some E Brides of the kind of desires such feminine contours could arouse - in a so-called “‘ white man,” none too fastidious anyway, who asked for nothing else but. . = Yesterday at Janssens’ Mr. Van Houten had more or less let _ - himself be talked into coming the following night to the club, ES where the beau monde of Batavia would be gathered together for the weekly concert. He did not care for music, but so long as it was being played he was, at any rate, relieved of the necessity p of talking, and Thérése would be pleased to read in his next letter that he had once more listened patiently for a couple of hours to potpourris of Bizet and Puccini, out of consideration for his fellow citizens and loyalty to her, for she never missed one of those Friday evenings. Fortunately, the affair didn’t begin until nine o’clock, nor did it matter if you arrived a bit late—after all, it wasn’t a lecture or _ aplay. So he could take his time over shaving and dressing, and _ then read the newspaper at leisure while he ate. a How was it that, as he stropped his razor and carefully tested _ its sharpness with his thumb, he could not help suddenly thinking _ about that woman again, as she had sat there with her shapely _ shoulders turned to him, gazing out into the dark garden, musing, _ unmoving? For one strange moment he fancied he even breathed _ the perfume which had seemed to flow from her—the cheap, almost stupefyingly sweet perfume of a native woman, to which his European senses, not keyed to react to such strong stimulants, 4 had, he thought, never been susceptible. What was the matter — with him? _ He opened his eyes; laid aside the razor—certainly sharp ots by now; and rubbed his shaving-brush in the pot of soap - witha proriounced show of energy. But a few seconds later the hallucination returned. He only _ became aware of it when he realized that he had gone on i icchanicaly lathering his face for much longer than was neces- _ sary. After that he began to shave in a flurry, as if he was pressed for time after all. | “Tuan . . . makanan fiap r-r-ready!” Simin called from the back verandah. _ He had himself told Simin to dish up the meal as soon as it comicbookss cone > aS