Argosy, Vol. 120, No. 1 — page 68: what you’re looking at

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

58 but both are still atrocious, Danny,’ she told him, with a cool mirth that was hardly calculated to communicate its coolness to him. ‘“ It was really because I was afraid about your sense that I wanted to have a word with you this evening. I'll admit you didn’t talk much to other people when [ last saw you, or anything to call loquacious with me, even. But that doesn’t quite as- sure me that you’d never talk to anybody. ‘‘ And—I wanted to advise you not to— not about me. Just for the sake of argu- ment we'll grant that you are in a position to prove I stuck you for over a hundred good bones and took another hundred away from you, so that a calm half-breed juez and a red-breed jury would all agree that I ought to be supported a year or so by the government in a stone-walled pen. That would be very unpleasant for me, Danny— I'll grant that, too. And you're so harsh and unforgiving that you wouldn’t care if it was unpleasant for me. I’ll grant that, also, Danny. . “ But, of course, you couldn’t expect me to go without saying a word. And—it’s all a question of how unpleasant it would be for you. Naturally, if you made much of a case, I’d have to fall back on the rights of a wife in her husband’s income or posses- sions. And I have the very best of proof that you have recognized me right in a public place and in-writing, as your true and lawful wife.” “Damn you!” Dan snarled in fury. “Oh, the devil did that long ago,” she laughed. “I’m merely trying to keep you from damning yourself. But—do I make the point clear that it will be as well for you not to start anything?” | ‘“‘ T never.was fool enough to intend start- ing anything,” Dan growled. Her point was impressing him more and more. “ But there’s one thing I want you to do—and that is to keep out of my way. If you think, because you made a holy show of me once, you can keep right on—well, try it. Just you re- member, Panama Liz, that the more people think I’m the kind to associate with your kind, the less reason I’ll have to care whether you show that page out of your damned posadera’s register or not. You’ve got your hand in this game; but it isn’t THE ARGOSY. good enough to take everything. So, don't try to overplay it.” ‘““Oh,” she chuckled calmly, “so you do know I’ve got it. I wasn’t going to say so just now. But — well — probably it’s taught you already that Panama Liz isn’t overlooking any bets in the game at that. My hand’s a little better than I thought it was, myself. I didn’t realize how par- ticular you.are about a pretty, spotless little reputation. Mine’s so far gone it never prorries me any more, and I sometimes for- get about other people’s. “ Good night, Danny. I’m awfully glad to have had this little chat with you.” “Go to the devil,” he snapped, turning on his heel. And then he recalled that he had been to confession that afternoon, and that he’d never talked that way to a woman before, no matter how bad she was. And it all helped to make his wrath the harder to bear and the hotter. Temperament is just another name for mere nerves. Dan Corwin’s past months had not been such as to give him physical or mental calm and poise. Once started into the glooms, Dan found plenty of shadows to prevent things from becoming too bright. From the ugly possibilities i in Panama’s Liz’s presence: on the ship, it was easy to turn, without any straining shift of humor at all, to the ugly possibilities of the skip- per’s habits. There was then plenty of © gloom to darken up all the thoughts he might have indulged as to the skipper’s daughter, and to turn the image she was fixing in his heart as dark with gloom as Panama Liz’s mourning weeds and all the other things on this ship. He was a fool for falling in love with such a girl. He was a yet bigger fool to imagine he could help his cause with her by staying on her father’s ship. She didn’t. like mates who disobeyed her father’s orders. From what he could see of her father, a mate would have to disobey about half the orders he got, and the man would lay blame, whether for obedience or diso- bedience, with the indifference of ignorance as to whether he had ordered or not. The mate of the ship was foreordained to the disfavor of its skipper’s daughter. ~~ ECOMICOOOLKS, CO)