The Argosy, August 1914 — page 126: what you’re looking at

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

116 suddenly seized the lapel of his coat and shot into the other’s eyes a look before which all Grelthorpe’s defiance melted like snow in the sunlight. For a moment neither spoke. Then the young man loosened his grasp. His smile returned. ‘There was a slight mistake, was there not?” Grelthorpe said nothing. “ Now tell me what happened in the Waldorf,” continued the young man. “And be very careful—very, very careful—that your memory plays you no tricks. It will be much better for you if it does not. You asked Lord Lastermere to marry your daughter?” Grelthorpe paused a moment, glar- ing at his questioner. Then he nodded in the affirmative. “Going to send Lord Lastermere after your daughter? ” The millionaire nodded. “Ah! Very sly. Very resourceful. Kindly give me your daughter's ad- dress.” The eyes of the two men met. Grel- thorpe, livid but silent, took out a card, wrote on it and handed it over. “ Perfectly sure this is right?” Grelthorpe nodded. “Did you pay Lord Lastermere’s traveling expenses? ”’ The frown gathered on Grelthorpe’s face. “Come now, there’s no need for getting angry. I see that you did. You will certainly not object to paying mine. How much money have you with your” “Four hundred dollars.” “Not enough. Give me—hm—let us say two thousand. You see, [ am going to take your dear friend Pro- fessor Copernicus to Europe with me. Come, let us go into some place where you can write out a check. In silence they walked to Broadway and entered a café. There Grelthorpe called for pen and ink and produced his check-book. “How shall I make it out?” he asked. THE ARGOSY. “Payable to bearer.” The pen scratched over the slip of paper. Grel- thorpe signed the check and gave it to the other, who carefully put it in his card-case. “Have a drink?” he inquired. Grelthorpe abruptly shook his head. “Ah, then you won’t mind waiting while I have a beer. Waiter, one beer.” As he sat sipping it, Grelthorpe sud- denly snapped: “What do you intend to do?” ~ His companion set down his glass with a sigh of enjoyment. “T haven't quite made up my mind which of two things will annoy you most,” he replied. “Perhaps. you could tell me yourself.” Grelthorpe growled something un- intelligible. ‘The youth pursued: “Which would you prefer—to have your daughter married to me or to Professor Copernicus? ”’ With a hoarse curse, David Grel- thorpe leaped to his feet and, without a word of farewell, strode out of the café. The young man finished his bever- age, paid for it, and departed, whistling happily. CHAPTER Vi. THE BROTHERS. It behooves us now to go_ back many years from the happenings narrated in the preceding chapters of this tale and learn something of the earlier history of that much-harassed individual, Mr. David Grelthorpe. It behooves us to go back to a time when he was anything but the grand personage to whom we have been in- troduced; anything but. the retired mil- lionaire, scaler of snow-capped social pinnacles, entertainer of the scions of the British nobility. Grelthorpe began life as a barefooted | boy in a Pennsylvania hamlet. He and his older brother, Philip, after a few years of elementary schooling, were CORMMICGLOOKS (C@