The Argosy, Vol. 82 No. 4 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

592 took the open note from his hand. Her face blanched as she read it. She crum- pled the paper in her small hand, and sum- moned back her calmness. “Keep this between ourselves. I shall dismiss the woman to-morrow.” ‘ “Miss Kendry,” said Fanning, in real distress, ‘I should be sorry if my visit should be the cause of any unpleasantness, which already seems to be the case.” “Tt is quite the other way. It is true that Mr. Batterson introduced the woman here, but 1 am under no obligation to keep her—especially now.” The angry girl stood a moment, looked at a chair as though she thought of sitting down, then turned abruptly, and without a word reentered the house, taking the note. “There’s a young lady who knows her own mind, if you please,” said Tom. “I understand what that sudden turn meant. It won’t be to-morrow that woman goes. It'll be to-night.” “Better so, if at all.” “Certainly. And now, Board, since we’ve gone so deep into these matters, we’ll have it out. I saw wonder in your face on two occasions and wanted to explain things, but in each case there was a reason why I should not, “You spoke of that interview with my father that morning, after which I proposed a trip—in a motor-boat, wasn’t it? Now, I wouldn’t mention this to embarrass you, if you hadn’t suggested that you were not wanted here. “Vou already know that it was my father who told me to invite you here. Well, he took me to his den and asked me how I stood financially. You know how I always did stand, pretty nearly broke. Well, the good old dad hauls out a thousand and hands it to me to blow in while you were here. ‘That looks as if you were not wanted, I don’t think. “T haven’t had a chance to break a five- dollar bill yet, and Batterson has done all the entertaining. But I can understand that attack in the launch now. ‘That fel- low wasn’t crazy. He was merely stupid, and bungled his job.” ~ “T begin to think so myself,” Fanning replied, “but things don’t piece up very well. Why should the woman warn me, if Batterson meant to put me out of the way? I was no rival to him with your sister. I hadn’t been in the house twenty-four hours,” THE ARGOSY. “Well, each was playing a lone game, and I don’t understand that either.” ‘When Batterson came after us to take that cruise he had no time to learn whether I had received the warning, or whether, having received it, I would go.” Tom mused over this complex problem a moment. His brain had not been mud- dled by his drinking. He suddenly sprang to his feet. “Fanning!” : His old classmate looked at him with surprise. There was a flashing light in Tom’s eyes that he did not like. ‘What is the matter, Tom?” “Fanning, that note has nothing to do with the bungling attempt on your life. Marie warned you to go, to get. you out of the way, in Batterson’s interest. It would have suited her purpose if you had merely packed your duds and left the house. But Batterson had a stronger reason for want- ing you out of the way. ‘Don’t you remember that day we came, after dinner, was it—I don’t know just when it was—but you said you had seen Batterson somewhere? And under condi- tions that were—well, you couldn’t recall?”’ “His face is vaguely familiar.” “He hates you, and you are in his way.” Fanning sat like a stone man. Putting Tom’s theory and Mr. Kendry’s disclosure together the potentialities of the case were beyond his power of deduction. CHAPTER VIII. FANNING TO THE FRONT. OM resumed his seat and calmed him- self with a cigarette. Fanning, after sitting with a numb brain for a moment, laughed. “There are queer things in this world, Tom.” “Yes. And I’ve just thought of another. I told you I had seen a look of wonder on your face twice. I have explained one. The other was upon the same morning. “You remember that when Batterson arrived I was not pleased. When he invited us on the cruise I was actually displeased. I had a thousand dollars good currency of the realm in my pocket and I wanted to do the honors. The money was given me to spend, and you know whether I am reluc- tant to spend money. “To tell you the truth, I was jealous. CORMMICOOOKS (C@