Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 146 No. 4 — page 149: what you’re looking at

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

A NEW GIRL IN TOWN. ‘““She’s ready to be crazy about you,” drawled Myra, blowing a ring. He jumped up excitedly. “T always though so! right!” To tease him Myra added casually: ‘‘ She also mentioned that you hadn’t said any- thing about marriage yet.” “ Marriage!” cried Sutliffe with a loud laugh. “ What does she think I am?” “She thinks you’re a passionate devil. She’s thrilled to pieces!” “Well, that’s all right. Then it’s all That’s all I want. To-night I won’t let her stall me off. DVi—” “You'll probably get your face scratched,” drawled Myra. “What do you mean?” he demanded, scowling. ‘ If she’s crazy about me—” “ My dear friend, that caveman stuff only gets over on the stage. Remember, there were cavewomen, too.” “ Well, what do you want me to do?” “ Use your wits. This girl is as ready to drop from the tree as a mellow peach. Only needs a little shake. She’s full of curiosity about you. She’s thrilled whenever you come near her. But it’s your roughness puts her off. You scowl at her like a pirate. What you’ve got to do is to beguile her. Make love to her. Third act stuff in a gar- den with a blue spot. Go down on your marrow bones if necessary. Make your voice flutelike, pull out the tremolo stop. Act Romeo. Lord, what fools women are! Never can get enough of it! And men worse fools not to see it!” “ There’s something in what you say,” Sutliffe muttered, frowning. Myra went off into a peal of derisive laughter. One evening the colonel said to Diantha: “T hope you won’t be troubled with that young blackguard much longer.” Diantha looked up in surprise. “ When we do get rid of him, we'll begin really to enjoy ourselves—Palm Beach, Cuba, Europe next summer. What would you say to a yacht?” the idea of leaving New York aroused no enthusiasm in Diantha’s breast. Pee, it I like something to do,” she ob- jected. She presently went on frownin a little. “Do you mean to say you @ € going to catch Sutliffe without my help?” She had sacrificed a lot in this game, and — it was galling to think she wasn’t even neces- sary to its success. ‘“T have to have all sorts of lines out, my dear,” said the colonel. “ At the mo- ment it looks as if one of them was going to hook the fish. But I'll need your help in landing him.” Diantha was silent. ther information. The colonel proceeded: “I have learned that Sutliffe keeps the letters we are after in the Adams Trust Company’s safe deposit vaults. He has a small box there, the sort that rents for ten dollars a year. One day we relieved Sutliffe of the keys for an hour or two without his knowledge, and had du- plicates made. Then an agent of mine hired another box in the» vault and commenced visiting it regularly. In the course of time he became friendly. with one of the attend- ants. Here we had a stroke of luck, for these fellows are mostly incorruptible. But my agent was able to work on the attend- ant’s feelings by telling him, without men- tioning names, that Sutliffe was blackmail-. ing a woman by means of certain letters which he kept in his box there. My agent has finally brought the attendant to a point where the man is willing to help him rob Sutliffe’s box of the letters, provided nothing else is touched.” “How would you need me?” asked Di- antha. “Tl tell you. The attendant doesn’t want to lose his job, naturally, and he makes it a condition that we keep Sutliffe occupied outside while the trick is being turned. That’s your job. It must be done some day between two and three o’clock, for at that hour the other attendant is out to lunch, and Sur man is alone in the vault except for a negro maid. She attends to the booths where the customers clip their coupons. If she did see the attendant hand — Sutliffe’s box to my man she woulda’t know. the difference.” ; “ What day?” asked Diantha. “ Any day you set, ee dear. TOWILU She waited for fur-