Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 2 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

FIXED BY ed ning, at all events. Why on earth don’t you take off that wet, heavy coat?” ‘‘ T—er—will!” George yawned, and rose and went at the buttons! ‘And [ll be with you in five minutes, and we'll have a lot more nice, homey con- versation before—it happens!” Miss Wood- bury concluded. ‘“‘ My entrée’s trying to do stunts, and I’ll have to coax it for a little. Au revoir!” She disappeared! Her song came again! An informal forefinger dashed away the cold perspiration that was dripping into George’s eyes, and he rose cautiously. But, even now, his path was clear. He had aged, he fancied, about fifteen years in that last two minutes, but his way to the outer world was unobstructed! On tiptoe, George -accomplished the door— opened it—closed it gently after him, and was out in the downpour again! A mighty gasp of relief left his lips. After it came a grim, ugly little laugh. ‘They had made about a dozen yards at that first dash; how much would they make this time before Margery thought up something new or—well, before he himself devised some fresno way of demonstrating his in- nate idiocy? A wave of contrition swept over George. After all, it was his own fault that Mar- gery stood there in the rain, health, hap- piness and everything else imperiled! He sped forward through the mud. He would pick up the poor kid and carry her, and—, “Oh! You’re here! You’re here at last!”’ Margery panted. “J__yes! - What’s wrong?” “Tm afraid, George! I’m always SO horribly afraid of the dark in the coun- try! “You were so long that I thought she’d kept you, and I—I’d have died of sheer ter- ror in one more minute. I don’t know why, but the woods always—did you get the bag, George?”’ “Here in my pocket!” George said cheerily, and tucked her trembling arm through his own. “Don’t be so silly,. Mar- gery; don’t be frightened. I’m not going to leave yeu alone again. It'll be easier if you'll let me carry you.” GEORGE. 209 “T can walk well enough, just so that —that we’re getting away from here,” Mrs. Poole: sighed, very shakily, and pressed close to him. ‘‘ Maybe before Arthur gets here we can—”’ “Arthur isn’t coming at all,” George said flatly. ‘‘ He lost his way or he. was called out unexpectedly on a case, or he may have turned back when it began to rain. Anyhow, he’s nowhere around here; I have a hunch to that effect, and my hunches are always right. Why, Margery, once I had a good strong hunch that-—”’ Here George, whose voice: was growing just as warm and reassuring as it could grow upon occasion, paused. The immedi-: ate reason for the pause was the dull, quick throb of a motor, coming through the rain; and not more than two seconds after the throb’s first sound, the faint glare of head- lights down there on the roadway. On came the flare, and still on, just, of course, as it might have come from any one of a thousand passing cars. But there was something strangely familiar about that particular heavy pulsing, something wholly different from the best of the average light country motor, something so different that Margery’s hand clawed into George’s arm, and she cried: ““That’s Arthur now!” ‘““It—can’t be!” George muttered, with- out a particle of conviction in a tone which seemed suddenly to have lost all its custom- ary warmth. “But it is, because—oh, look! They’re stopping just where you stopped! His brakes are squeaking, just as yours squeaked!” And they squeaked again, and the big headlights, pointing abruptly up this way, and missing roadway and house by not more than fifty feet as they threw into sharp sil- houette the wooden horse across the bridge, came to a standstill. Dr. Poole owned a big, deep, bass voice which fairly boomed in quiet places. It boomed new through the extremely quiet region about Aunt Amanda’s. “The bridge seems to be closed,” it hurled through the rain. ‘“ We’ll have to make a quick rum for the house.” (To be snide’ NEXT WEEK.) 4 Arcosy (E() .OOK =) a (E@)