The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 218: what you’re looking at

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

920 as she waited, struggling with her emo- tion, the parcel on the table caught her attention. With trembling fingers she un- wrapped it, exposing to view two bas- kets of luscious strawberries, a box. of candy, a crape kimono, and a silk scarf. Dumbly she looked them over, the first gifts she had received since her girlhood days; then she dropped her head upon her arms and cried as if her heart would break. “He does care,’ she sobbed. And so did Dr. Lencia find her. He came into the tent, covered with sweat and dirt, yet with a happy light in his eyes. In the second that he paused upon the threshold, he marked the open package to the weeping figure beside it. He took a quick step toward her, read the unfinished note at a glance and smiled tenderly. ‘Then, when she did not mind his affectionate touch upon her shoulder, he gathered her gently to him. ‘“T have been so cruel to you, dear,” he breathed into her ear. “I have caused you so many little agonies for the sake of doing my duty. Will you forgive me if I tell you how heartless I have really been? ”’ ‘* Anything,” she answered, nestling closer to him—“ anything that you might ever do.” He kissed her again and again, whispering those tuneful words that the lover tells his adored; then: “T have a surprise in store for you. Wait here until I fetch it; I won’t be long.” Peggy waited, and as the minutes went by her mind was a riot of won- derful thoughts. A broad vista of years spread out before her like a golden dream, too strange to be true, too true to be real. This great-souled fellow, whose eve- ry thought of her she now knew to be the embodiment of good, was to redeem her misspent life, to give her that happiness that she had so often craved. THE ARGOSY. She wept softly from the very ful- ness of her joy, and while so occupied the sound of a soft footfall reached her ears. She looked up, to meet Ma- chado’s vindictive eyes peering at her through the entrance. Placing a finger to his lips for silence, he walked in. “Buenos dias, seftora,” he smirked. ‘“ Don’ be scare; I no tech you. See, I stop here. I goin’ ’way; that is for why I come to see you. You glad, no? Oh, Feliciano Machado not bad feller. “Look, I tell you somet’ing mebbe Dr. Lencia no tell you. You tell lie to heem. You say you haf a dream that somebody try keel heem. That pistol you take from me, look at it. It is Pete’s pistol, no? “Tt is no dream, sefiora. But Dr. Lencia heem fine the seventeen thou- sand dollars contrabando. You lak Dr. Lencia, no? He lak you, too; but, gee whiz, I lak you better! What you goin’ do “bout it, eh? Caramba! “ Peggy, I feel I take you weeth me to Mexico. You say so?” He stopped, regarded her quizzically for a moment, and continued with a merry laugh: “ And should Machado ever force you into such an adventure, dear, it will be only because I consent.”’ He tore open his dirty jumper at the throat, snatched off his slouch hat, wig, and oily mustache, and stood re- vealed, but for the swarthy make-up on his face, as the man to whom she had given her heart—Dr. Lencia of Sand Dyke Bar! “ But I can’t understand,” she told him after he had fondled his way into her forgiveness. “And with good reason,” he agreed, smiling into her eyes, “ since certain things require explanation. Listen. Smuggling on the frontier, and I’m assigned to the work. That was a year ago. I met your husband and we dis- cussed the border. “He knew every inch of it, and I formed an opinion. But months passed without results. One night about four months back he dropped a Gomichoo “S' (E@)