The Argosy, Vol. 84 No. 1 — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

56 my cousin, who owns the agency, but I— I wanted to try something with an adven- ture in it and—he let me try this,” the voice pursued bitterly. ‘Go on,” Dr. Bowen said thickly. “They said—or Will said—that it was all in the nature of a joke. They told me that Dr. Whinnys—I’ve never seen him, you know—was a good deal of— well, of a fool, I’m afraid, and that he was full of romance and mystery, and that he’d be sure to stick to me because—be- cause—” “Because you were so very lovely?” Dr. Bowen said. 7 “T’m so ashamed,” the voice answered faintly. ‘‘I—didn’t realize, honestly. You see, it was all planned for the pur- pose of keeping Dr. Whinnys away from Manhattan last night; there was an ap- pointment of some kind.” ‘IT know about that!” “He has told you? But he can’t have told you about their wretched plot, Dr. Bowen. The men down in that heights _ house were operatives, too, you know, and the house belonged to one of the men who wanted to keep Dr. Whinnys from the city. That Mr. Harrison had the keys and—oh, they persuaded him not to have an alarm sent out for you, by the way!— Mr. Harrison had the keys and he laid out all the details of the scheme to keep you busy with adventure. We were to ‘go up to Mr. Fenner’s house if by any chance you succeeded in getting out down there and—and we did and—” Dr. Bowen laughed so boisterously, so suddenly, that Dr. Whinnys, distinctly startled, looked up from his books. “Tf you’re distressing yourself about it —don’t!’’ said Dr. Jim. ‘‘ You’ve done me as good a turn as one mortal could do another.” The girl, apparently, did not under- stand. ‘“‘T—I wanted to call you up and tell you how sorry I am,” she went on faintly. “Perhaps, if it had been Dr. Whinnys and he had been all they said he was, it , = ' ‘THE THE ARGOSY. would have been different, but—but when you thrashed those two men on the Park- way, and later, when you were so gentle with me and so wonderful in getting out of the house, and—and so different—I want- ed to tell you that I’ve given up the busi- ness, and I’m going back to dad’s law office in Rochester to-morrow.” Dr. Bowen breathed deeply. His policy of push and punch, it seemed to him, could well be applied just here. There was no sense at all in that girl returning to a remote spot like Rochester. Dr. Jim, therefore, covered the telephone transmitter with his hand and, in the most assured fashion, barked at Polly Whinnys: “Say, will you lend me fifty dollars in cash on account?” ‘““Surest thing you know,” Polly said serenely. ‘‘ Page two hundred and one—” ‘“ Hello!” cried Dr. Bowen. Yes?” the girl said. “Where are you now?” — “Down at the Clarendon Hotel, doc- tor. My sister-in-law is staying here, and I came to her from Fenner’s house, after we’d thrashed it all out.” ‘““ Well, I—I have to attend a funeral this afternoon,” Dr. Bowen said, sobering briefly. “ But after that—well, I may as well be quite honest with you and tell you that I haven’t an idea of letting you slip away without so much as another sight of you. If you’d let me call for you about half past five and then let me take you somewhere across the river for dinner and then to a show—or will you let me come at five, so that we can get acquainted?”’ “Well, doctor—” : “Well, will you?” cried Dr. Bowen. ‘“'Well—yes!” said the girl, and the laugh rippled through her tone again. “Then Ill be there when the clock strikes five!” the physician almost shout- ed. ‘‘ Good-by and—say! Wait a min- ute!” he cried. ce Yes?” ‘“* Well—er—er—”’ Dr. Bowen said to the young woman he fully intended to marry. “ Er—what’s your name?” END, COMMICLOOOLK< (GOUU