Argosy (UK), January 1955 — page 67: what you’re looking at

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

Pa ——— © —-—- 2 — i. 2s ws. et. le ee ae — es "Tw = » - - MAIDENHAIR FERN 05 hurrying after him. She wanted to leave this one in his care also, while she was away. It is, indeed, a wise washerwoman who knows her own mangle! It was still very warm that evening. All fashionable Dijon seemed to have crammed itself into the Café de I’Univers et de la Gare, and was fanning itself. It had been a sweltering Sunday and tempers were more than a little frayed. At his customary table, Monsieur Michel was drinking an apéritif with his wife. ‘“ Look,” she said, “‘ there goes Monsieur Gustave. I wonder where he’s off to in such a hurry on a hot night like this? And look, there goes Madame la Concierge—and she’s in a hurry, too. There, now—he’s running. And so is she. Now he’s turn- ing round and coming back.” “Must have forgotten something,” said Monsieur Michel comfortably. ‘“ Madame la Concierge has turned, too. She’s carrying some- thing—it must be her new baby.” “Or her old fern.” “I’m almost sure it’s the baby.” “If I know Madame la Concierge, it’s the fern.” “There, now—they’re crossing over—I suppose we shall never know.” “I know,” said Monsieur Michel smugly. “ There’s nothing wrong with my eyesight! ” “And there’s nothing the matter with mine,” riposted his wife, strongly. ‘‘ And I tell you it was the baby she was carrying.” “And I say it was the fern! ” “Tt was the baby!” “It was the fern!” “The baby! ” ~ Lhe fern!” “ Fern!” Just then Monsieur Gustave doubled back again with his concierge coming after him! And now even Monsieur Michel’s wife could see that it was not a baby. This was too much. Monsieur Michel’s wife made a grab at the first object to hand—the Maidenhair Fern that stood upon their table. In a fury she flung it at her husband. He ducked. It felled the doubling-back Monsieur Gustave. While they are binding up Monsieur Gustave’s poor head with strips of table-cloth and taking him home in a fiacre, a very different scene has been taking place in the salle 4 manger of , comicloooks.comn