The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 1 — page 53: 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.. standing aside, was not visible to the newcomer. She was looking her mild astonishment at the doctor. The latter’s sharp eye fairly pierced her. “Slip into the dining-room there!” he whispered. ‘‘ Get out of the house if you have the chance! Quick!” Or was that the kind of order to hurl at a girl of imperfect mental balance? Perhaps not. Perhaps it would have been better and safer to keep her here and pre- sent the cold and impossible truth to the owner of the place, and then—well, the time for quiet meditation had passed, anyway! The gentleman had raised his head and met the eyes of Dr. Bowen. He started with really melodramatic violence, throw- ing up his hands for’an instant. Blank amazement, then, possessed him for a second or two — and next came incredu- lity, as the newcomer moved forward eyes ever on the excellent doctor—and finally he smiled suddenly and, it seemed, rather nastily! Dr. Jim, however, paid little enough heed to the smile just then; his brain was taking another of the brief spins to which it was growing somewhat accus- tomed. This was no furious stranger— this was the lean, tall man of forty or so who had spoken to him briefly in Catter- son’s parlor and then hurried away. Now, brows arched and smile more cynical, he whistled softly. “My soul and honor!” said he. ‘“ It’s you!” “You’re the one—” Dr. Bowen began hoarsely. “Well, who’d have thought it? Who’d have thought that?” the tall one inquired. “And you a person of parts, a respectable pillar of—” “ What?” asked Dr. Jim. Sheer amazement prevented his going further. The tall man, whoever he might turn out to be eventually, was taking his presence in here at four in the morning without anger, without the natural kind of astonishment one might have expected, 43 without anything, indeed, but that de- — cidedly nasty and mysterious smile. He had perched himself on the arm of a chair now and was looking Dr. Bowen up and down with a dry grin. ‘It simply shows that you never can tell,” he remarked cryptically. “I saw you coming in, but it never occurred to me that it might be you. For Dalbane’s sake—poor devil—I took the liberty of walking in. He left the odd key with me yesterday when he started for Boston. You didn’t know that, did you?” ““{T—don’t know—” Dr. Jim stam- mered. . ‘ Badly rattled, eh?” the tall stranger went on contemptuously. ‘“‘ Foolish, that! You adventurous Don Juan fellows ought to keep a special reserve of wits for use in emergencies like this, you know.” “Don Juan?” Dr. Bowen repeated dazedly. ‘Don fiddlesticks, if you like that bet- ter,” the stranger chuckled. ‘‘ Where’s the lady? Up-stairs?” ‘““The—the lady?” Dr. Jim essayed, and just checked the glance that would have turned toward the dark dining-room. “There is no lady and—” ‘Listen, doc!” the tall man interrupted sharply. “ Don’t be an ass. I may be a good deal more of a friend than you fancy. Where’s Mrs. Dalbane?”’ ‘““T never heard of any Mrs. Dalbane!”’ Dr. Bowen exploded. And now, inexplicably, the gentleman who had been in Catterson’s snapped his fingers impattfently, and, jerking away from his chair, came close to the doctor. ‘“What’s the matter with you, you | confounded fool?” he demanded. ‘“ Are you so thoroughly flabbergasted that you don’t even know you’re standing in Dal- bane’s study, at four in the morning and ~ with the house lit up like a Christmas- tree? Shake yourself together and don’t try that rot on me. I saw you come in here!” Dr. Bowen could say nothing at all! ‘IT saw you coming up the next block together, just as I was going to turn into = CORMICLOOOKS (E@)