The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

56 THE glowed again. In an hour Kingsale was able to sit up and regard his surroundings intelligently, and his first action was to reach out anxiously for his coat. Jerry handed it to him, and he groped with a shaking hand in the breast-pocket for a moment. His eyes brightened per- ceptibly as he drew forth a fat packet en- closed in a brown fiber envelope, and he paid no heed to the witnesses as he opened it and eagerly fingered a dozen or more folded papers which were only slightly wet at the edges from the water that had soaked through the stout fiber fabric. “Scarcely hurt at all, sir,’ remarked the young man of the houseboat dwelling; “and you'll be all right yourself after you’ve had a good sleep.”’ Kingsale nodded in agreement and smiled slightly. He explored the pocket again and found a water-logged leather - wallet. From that he produced a number of soggy bank notes, and counted off fifty dollars. “Young man,” he said hoarsely, and somewhat feebly, “I am not wealthy and at present I am short of ready cash, but I must ask you to accept this in return for your hospitality and service. I have to thank this other gentleman for saving my life,’ he added with a peculiar look at Jerry, ‘“‘and I shall have some difficulty in repaying him for the service. Some lives are hard to appraise, you know.” The young man expostulated, but his eyes lingered upon the money and he was at last prevailed on to accept it. The pleasant-faced woman reappeared and sug- gested supper for the gentlemen, but King- sale demurred; he declared that he was able to start for home, and must do so without more delay. 7 “Tf you have a telephone,” Jerry said to the woman, ‘I will order a taxicab.” “No, no!” exclaimed Kingsale, “I really don’t want a cab; I’m quite able to walk to the subway; and that will get me home quicker than a cab could do it.” There was some further argument, but the man’s will prevailed, and he and Jerry set forth at eight o’clock. The wet clothes ARGOSY. had dried but slightly, and he shivered as they clung ludicrously to his frame. He was reluctant to lean on Jerry’s arm, and Jerry could see that he feared to go with him through the quiet, deserted Streets. ‘You are the man of—of the miniature farm on the hill?” he asked abruptly, as they approached the subway station. ‘Yes, [ am,” Jerry answered dryly; “I am the man that you were successful in knocking out a couple of times.” “Tt was necessary,” returned Kingsale soberly; “‘but I regret it very much. The situation is peculiar now, isn’t it? I have good reason to feel uneasy in your com- pany, considering my weakened condition, but I can’t forget that I should be at the bottom of the river now if you had not come to the rescue.” ‘Returning good for evil is very flatter- ing to one’s vanity,” said Jerry, ‘so you may consider that I already have my re- ward. As for other matters between us, you needn’t be uneasy.” “How did you happen to be on the river?” inquired the other. “For no more mysterious reason than you happened to be on the houseboat,” was the reply, and it made the man start nervously. “If I may ask,” Jerry added, “T am curious to know if you ever met Foxford before?”’ “Foxford!”’ echoed Kingsale; “I don’t know the name. Was it—” “The tall young man who interfered with your work.” Kingsale grew more nervous. “You evidently saw a good deal of the affair,” he remarked. “No, I never saw him before, but I hope we shall meet again. He was a young ruffian!”’ Jerry smiled, but forebore to point to the irony of the observation. “Pardon me if I ask if you got what you went after,” he said, half facetiously. They had climbed the stairs to the sta- tion platform, and in the bright light, with a number of people standing near, the man seemed to gain confidence. “Since you seem to know so much about CORMMICGLOOOKS (C@)