The Argosy, Vol. 81, No. 4 — page 110: what you’re looking at

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

676 “Captain Neville wins the first hand,” William went on. “He’ll fight harder for the second. . “Come along, boy!” he added, grabbing Jolly George’s hand. The giant overseer led off the boy at such long, rapid strides that Jolly George was forced to break into a trot every so often to keep abreast of him. CHAPTER V. THE SEERESS SERVES. HEELING about when she was sure they were gone for the present, Mother Juliet went back briskly toward her house. Nor did she smother a feeling of triumph in her breast—against which she pressed the diamond rings, cool and sharp— for the cast of luck that had drawn William Ransom away so opportunely. At six feet from her door she stood stock- still, surprised yet self-poised. Leaning shakily against one side of the doorway, she saw the castaway, his ema- ciated body naked to the waist, his hand- some head lolling to right and left as he searched his surroundings with fevered eyes. With feline cautiousness she studied him, advancing a short step. He could not see her, for his eyes were blinded from the darkness of the timber shed. The seeress, no longer a necromancer, but solely a crafty, calculating woman, ven- tured within arm’s reach of him. He tottered as if to fall. She supported him in her stout grip and braced him against the outer wall of the house. ‘“‘Who are you?” he asked in a voice faint and husky, looking down at her wonder- ingly. “A friend—your friend, sir,’ Mother Juliet assured him meekly. He tried to laugh ironically, but his voice broke in a falsetto shriek. “A friend—my friend!” he echoed. haven’t one in the world!” “Vou’re not allowed to say that to me, sir,” she returned, “after what I’ve done for you and am doing.” “Then why did you let them shut me up in that black cell? I am choking for want of air. But I dug my way out all right. Go inside there and see where I smashed down the wall. “T would have torn a hole in the roof of the grave to breathe this air again, to see as | THE ARGOSY. trees—and the sky. The sky is still up there, I know, but I’m all fagged out. I’ve been trying to lift my head to look at it, but I can’t.” He smiled sadly. “Ever see such a baby for a big fellow?” he asked. “You're sick, sir, but I’m going to nurse you well again.” “Sick? I should say I am! Why, I’m so sick I saw a lot of snakes in there by the fire! Think of a man that never drinks— who hasn’t had a drink of water, even, since Heaven knows when—think of him seeing snakes in the daytime! Ask me if I’m sick!” He rubbed his eyes wearily with the back of his hand. Then he added: “But I want to tell you one thing. They have no right to shut me up. You wouldn’t understand. Nobody can or will—yet I never touched one red cent of all that money. “Now let me sit down here and watch the trees and the grass. I feel as if I never want to see anything but trees and land as long as I live.” Mother Juliet eased him to a seat on the ground by the door. She went into the house and returned immediately with two pillows which she set at the small of his back. The man looked up smiling, as if in ap- preciation, and muttered: “Thank you. Put me down as H. A. Danforth. Got it?” The woman bowed jerkily and repeated: “H. A, Danforth, sir.” “You won’t bother me any more about my name, will you? You said you were my friend.” “No, sir; I won’t bother you.” “What’s your name?” “Juliet—they call me Mother Juliet.” “That’s a good one, too.” The man laughed mirthlessly and let his head fall back against the wall, closing his eyes. When he was again conscious of her presence he saw spread beside him a flam- ing red table-cloth on which were laid a bowl of milk with bread in it, a dishful of eggs that seemed half-boiled and were highly speckled with chopped herbs and a pot of steaming coffee with a capacious cup and saucer beside it. Mother Juliet tended him with all the knowing care of a nurse. When he showed Co DOO AMUN S (C@)