The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 27: what you’re looking at

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

MESQUITE. RANCH. which he had gone. He lifted the man and forced him to drink it. : “Ted, you do know him? Why did he come here?” Bess demanded as Radford handed the empty glass to Williams. “IT never saw him before, swered. It was the second lie he had told her. He must have seen the uncanny visitor before, else how did he know his name, since Williams had not announced him? Her big, dark eyes fixed on Radford with a look of reproach and resent- ment. But Ted was not noticing her. He was absorbed in watching the effect of the wine and hoping for the speedy de- parture of Bullen. “All right?” he asked as Bullen seemed to revive. “Tl have a taxi and send you home.”’ Bess looked at Radford with an ex- pression in her deep eyes which was far from flattering to his judgment. She knew she ought to be leaving her- self, but Ted appeared possessed to do the wrong thing; so she defied the con- ventions she worshiped and stayed. She descried the crowd of curious people outside the doors of the Fifth Avenue residence, all intent upon see- ing what the photographers and news- papermen were doing. Ted saw that her objection to send- ing the wounded man away while the spectators still lingered was well taken. It would add a very disagreeable bit of sensationalism to the elaborate re- port of his mother’s marriage to the multimillionaire, which was sure to appear in the papers. Besides, Ted was growing more and more concerned about Bullen. The ” Ted an- * man seemed to be growing momentarily weaker, and the thought of having him die there in the house was far from pleasant. “T’ll have to get him to the hospital or—lI’ll send in for Dr. Milner,” Rad- ford said. “Don’t you suppose that the sight of a servant going from here into the 129 doctor’s house will stir up the wildest curiosity? ”’ Bess protested. * Well—what shall I do?” finally demanded. “Call up a doctor who can come in by some other than the front door. He can look after him, and then, after the people are gone, you can send him to a hospital if he needs to go. You must have struck him hard to make such a gash! ”’ Radford was at the desk-phone be- fore Bess completed her observation. He was intent upon getting a number, and did not hear the last words. “Hello! Is Dr. Stratton there?” Bess straightened up, still and tense, from her inspection of Bullen. An al- most imperceptible quiver shook her slender body. But when Ted turned to her, her face wore its look of high- bred, white calm. Only the big eyes burned and glimmered like dark wells disturbed. “Where’s the butler?” Ted asked, discovering that Williams had gone. He started toward the door, but Bess intercepted him. “Tl find him. I can’t be here—if he dies!” she exclaimed, glancing over her shoulder toward Bullen. Her looks, the haste with which she left the room, and her words filled Ted with consternation. The ugly situation showed all of its disadvantages in a flash. Bullen had walked into the library, not a well man, but certainly perfectly able to get about alone. If he died nothing but discomfort and notoriety could be the result. Ted shuddered at the idea of having his mother’s wedding-day made hideous by such an aftermath. He determined to do everything in his power to get Bullen away before the worst could happen. He glanced at the clock and knew that it was time for Stratton to put in an appearance. Then he went to Bullen and stood gazing down on the unconscious face with more anxiety than he had ever experienced in his pleasant life. Ted COPNICGLOOOLX< (C@)