The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 1 — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

THANKS TO THE B. R. T. The third time, as Dr. Jim dropped back a little to avoid attracting her at- tention, she stopped short before a mighty, dark old mansion with a ‘space at either side, and a glimpse of Manhat- tan’s lighted office buildings far beyond. She nodded, too, and walked directly to the door. And, although Dr. Bowen could 7 sworn that she neither rapped nor rang, the door opened as she reached the top- most step, and Miss Catterson, without a backward glance, vanished within! CHATER IX. THE BIG HOUSE. FAR off, a big steamer blew two long blasts. Nearer at hand, a tug-boat squeaked shrilly. The sounds died out together and tremendous stillness fell upon all things in Dr. Bowen’s neighbor- hood. For downright chilling calm, it seemed to him, he had never encountered any- thing quite like this residential neighbor- hood at night. Half a minute ago Helen Catterson’s French heels had been click- ing softly along the pavements, quite ab- sorbing him; now the sound of them was gone and the world was empty. ~ Only for a few seconds, however, did Dr. Jim indulge his sentimental loneli- ness. The girl had passed beyond his vision, which was not at all in Catterson’s contract; she was in the big house, and what sort of place the big house might be was beyond any guessing. Dr. Bowen looked about quickly in the hope of finding some local wanderer who might give information; there was not a soul in sight. He turned his gaze back to the house itself, and the chilled Sensation within him grew. It was not a reassuring place to look at. It was massive and old, and very dark, indeed; one swift glance showed that not a single window in the house was lighted, and through the little tran- som above the old-fashioned solid wood 23 front door only the smallest illumination showed. But she was in there, and his place, both by inclination and agreement, was in there, too! With no definite plan at all, with no idea of what he meant to say, Dr. Bowen moved suddenly to the door and tried the knob. It was, rather naturally, locked on the . other side. He hesitated, shrugged his shoulders, and pressed the electric button, more than a little fearful that there would be no response at all. In this, however, he was pleasantly dis- appointed. He had hardly more than caught the faint and distant tinkle of the bell than a chain rattled on the other side of the door, a lock snapped back, and the old-fashioned door opened wide. Dr. James Bowen, this time, was face to face with a butler. Heavily built, clad in sober black, as wooden of expression as any doll, the middle-aged man. showed no surprise whatever at sight of him. One might, in fact, have fancied that he was expecting James Bowen, for he nodded with what looked like respectful recognition and bowed as he stepped back and mur- mured: ‘Step in, sir, if you please.” “ Er—what? All right,” Dr. Jim -mut-— tered, and lowered his voice. “There was a young lady who came in here a minute or two ago, and—” = ‘“ Quite so, sir,” the butler interrupted. “ Will you be Se) good as to step t this way, sir?” “But—” : “Right this way, sir, if you please,” the man repeated, opening the high slid- ing door at the right and, entering, to snap on several of the lights and reveal a wide, old-fashioned drawing-room, . well- filled with furniture, of which every last | piece was slip-covered. As a reception, it was odd enough to be sure! The fellow seemed to under- stand the unheralded call thoroughly as —or more thoroughly than—Dr. Bowen himself. He took the visitor’s hat and COPE TOOKS (G (FO)