The Argosy, Vol. 82, No. 3 — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

450 THE But if he paid twenty-five hundred for. the place the balance would go as a straight mortgage; he could get it at five per cent. and indefinitely. The interest and taxes would not come to fifteen a month. Arthur got Eleanor into a cozy corner be- for the bride and groom had been rice- pelted from the premises. ‘Eleanor, what do you say to having our wedding next June or July?” he pro- pounded. “I think I can see my way to it now.” “Well,” was what she said, “I’m sure I never insisted that you be worth a fortune in money, I’d marry you any time, if you were a cart-driver earning ten a week. I don’t have to have all the luxuries, and—”’ Which was just the way for a sweetheart to talk, but which, quite properly, had never hitherto blinded him to the fact that her salary as principal of the Lincoln School was just two dollars better than his own. The owner of that desired home of Ar- thur and Eleanor’s refused to give a lease on the house. He would rent by the month; he would sell on easy terms. But a lease would tie up the place for a year. So Arthur took five hundred of the six he had saved and paid it down, arranging tem- porarily for the balance at forty-five a month, including interest. Eleanor insisted then on using the four hundred she had saved to furnish the place. Old Morrison rather disconcerted Arthur when, just two weeks before the wedding, he started on a business trip of indefinite duration, but of perfectly definite length to include the Panama Exposition. Arthur would have appreciated it, had Morrison, in addition to arranging for his manager’s honeymoon-vacation, sent his present in advance. However, Mr. Morri- son could hardly forget the matter, and checks go easily by mail. The wedding came at high noon. Even noons come high for weddings. Arthur had noticed that everything came a little higher than he had expected. Just how he was going to get away with the proposed tour to the Maine Coast with- out biting a hundred off Mr. Morrison’s two thousand dollar check was becoming a problem. . And he wanted that check to go whole and unbroken into the house. Even that would not have worried him so much had the check itself arrived promptly. Arthur had gone eight times to the home where his bride-to-be dwelt with her parents ARGOSY. —eight times since the low noon preceding the wedding high one. Each time he had managed a surreptitious look into the room where the presents were being put on exhibition. Each time he managed to hint something that would have given Eleanor opportunity to speak of receiving Mr. Morrison’s check. She did not mention it. At eleven fifteen he paid the ninth visit to the array of presents. Then he sought out Mrs. Jangreaves. Eleanor was being done up by a hairdresser, a dressmaker and a few others. Arthur had arrived early. There had been no previous chance to in- quire since the nine o’clock mail delivery. “Er,” he faltered, ““Mr. Morrison’s pres- ent didn’t come yet, did it?” “TI haven’t heard any one say anything about it,” the almost mother-in-law replied. “Is he sending anything?” ‘““Why—er—I don’t know,” Arthur stam- mered. Mrs. Jangreaves bustled off about one of the thousand and odd things there are to da around a wedding. Arthur sat down; got up; sat down again. Mrs. Jangreaves came back. “What time does the next mail arrive?” he inquired. “He’s supposed to get here at_half- vast eleven, or about that,” he was informed. “But he’s pretty apt to be later.” She meant the postman. Arthur hurried up to an empty bedroom and began to put the finishing touches upon his personal ap- pearance. “Great Scott!” he gasped, as he glanced into the glass, “I look as if I’d been on a bat last night. I didn’t sleep much. I— why, there’s a gray hair.” He jumped away from the glass. It was not the sight of the gray hair. A postman’s whistle had sounded somewhere. Finally he perceived that the whistle was being blown from house to house on the street behind the Jangreaves home. He sat down and smoked four cigarettes, one after another. The whistle lost itself in the distance. Supposing Morrison should not send the check! Bannock wiped a big drop of per- spiration from the left side of his forehead. Of course, Morrison would send the check. Hadn’t he given one to King? Hadn’t he encouraged Arthur to get married? Of course— “Hey, Artie—about ready? It’s three COMMICLOOOKS (C@