The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 185: what you’re looking at

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

WHAT THE WAR “Anne,” said Pamela suddenly, “when Carlos was getting that dust out of your eye, this afternoon, you know?” “Yes,” Anne nodded. ‘‘He had one end of his handkerchief twisted up to dab with, but the other end waved about in the breeze. I’m not cer-~ tain, but it looked a lot like a royal crest in the corner.” “For an apparently honest young man,”’ rejoined Anne, “‘Carlos seems to have a peculiar fancy for other people’s handker- chiefs.” “Of course he must have got it by mis- take,” agreed Pamela quickly; “probably the washwoman mixed them up.” “Um, I wonder,” said Anne. II. THE next afternoon on the way down from the Pointed Pine, Anne gave a sud- den sharp cry of pain. “What is it?” exclaimed Pamela and Carlos in one breath. “T know you told me, Pamela, that it was reckless to whittle while walking. And you warned me, Carlos, that your knife was sharp. You both had special powers of divination.” Anne held up her finger from which the blood was flowing. With her other hand she searched all the possible places for her handkerchief. “Here is mine.” While Pamela was hunting hers Carlos had found his, and proceeded ‘to wrap it tightly around the cut. ‘“That’s too clumsy.” He unwound it quickly. “T’ll cut off some strips,” Anne protested vigorously. There was no sense in cutting up a good handker- chief. She merely wanted to hold some- thing around the cut for a few minutes till it stopped bleeding. | Before she had finished speaking the handkerchief was in strips and her finger -was neatly bound. . On reaching home, Anne examined the bandage by the light of the hall lamp. The strips had been cut from the center of the linen. There was no monogram; there Were no initials; there was no crest. DID FOR ANNE. 175 “Pamela,” she called to her friend, who was already half way up the stairs, “‘just tell Miss Biggs that I have an errand to do, but that I will be back in plenty of time to dress for dinner.” Anne stepped out at the door and hur- ried along several blocks till she reached the business street. “In a country where one buys stamps at tobacco shops, glass at confectioners’, and salt at drug-stores, it is difficult to know where to begin.” She looked up and down the street with a puzzled frown. At last deciding on a book store, she plunged in. ‘““Have you photographs of the Royal Family?” she asked the clerk. “But certainly,” replied the clerk to Anne’s great relief. He placed on the counter before her photographs of the king and’ queén, two princes, and a little princess. “Are these all?” asked Anne. The clerk looked at her as one who thought, ‘““What more can she expect?” “I'll take the set,” said Anne hastily and in some confusion. As she left the store and started on her return to the pension, she came to a sud- den halt. “The clerk may have meant that he did not have any other photographs. He did not necessarily mean that there are no others.” Her thoughts kept pace with her feet as she hurried along looking for another book store. ‘“T must find out. I can’t let it go on like this. Carlos’s fingers shook so while he wound that namby, pamby little scratch that—that—if Pamela hadn’t been there I don’t know what would have happened. I won’t be able to manage him much longer, and I’m beginning to have doubts about myself. “T might as well face it,’ Anne kept steadily on, but was thankful for the dusk. “T am going to fall out—for I’m already in—before he discovers it, if that hand- kerchief with the royal crest really belongs to Carlos. Gomichbook (E@)