Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 2, 1922 — page 139: what you’re looking at

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

THE DANCE ‘Katherine has eloped,” he said. His voice, ringing with a mingling of relief and joy and thanksgiving in it, carried further than he had intended. Down the table all eyes turned his way; and one or two heads turned at neighboring tables as stray ears caught the glad tidings. ‘“ Eloped?” cried young Coleman, who was still at college, but who loved Kath- erine none the less passionately for that. And his tone voiced his tragedy. ‘“ Not —not with that—not with Da Costa, surely?” cried Muriel. ‘“ No—good Lord, no! I suspect she was only playing with him to make the man she really wanted jealous,” said Jack. ‘“ But who is it—Garry?” cried old Mr. Coleman. “Yes, Garry,” smiled Jack. And they raised their voices and their glasses hilari- ously, all shouting, “ Garry!” and drank. “ But how did they get out to do it? I thought no one could get owt?” queried old Mr. Coleman wearily. “*Tove laughs at locksmiths,’ father,” quoted Muriel, her heart growing lighter as she saw the gladness back in Jack’s eyes. And though she never mentioned it, and he never told her, she knew that Katherine had come through some great danger that night, and by some wholly unexpected mir- acle had come through safe. CHAPTER XXXVI. RETRIBUTION AND JUSTICE. HREE times Napoleon had _ ap- proached the vicinity of Bartlett’s table and had seen—from a safe dis- tance—Bartlett still sitting there, upright, to all appearances absolutely unharmed by the poisonous draft Napoleon had mixed for him. To Napoleon this was a miracle. He knew that white powder. He had ob- tained it from a chemist in Italy—a close friend of his. He knew its effect. True, he had carried it for years. Its potency might be to some extent lessened! But that Bartlett—a weak old man—should be able to swallow it and sit there, plainly un- disturbed, was clearly impossible. Two solutions to the problem occurred to SA OF DEATH. Napoleon, after his third visit of inspection. Either he had recognized Napoleon and had thrown the draft away! Or he had given it to some one else. His first impulse was to approach Bart- lett and ascertain the truth from him. But on second thought, this task seemed too great. He could not rely upon anything that Bartlett might say. And he was averse to admitting to the old man that he had been, even for a time, completely deceived, not alone still in doubt! The more clever way, he decided, was to discover if anybody had been taken sudden- ly ill. Of course he dared not ask such a question outright, lest there were inquiries started, and some one should want to know what ve knew. Still, he could find out something, no doubt, from the boy, Mark, in the check room. Accordingly, he mount- ed the stairs. “ Well, Mark,” he said in Italian, “ how are things with you to-night, eh?” “ Better than with our friend Da Costa,” said Mark grimly. “ Yesterday we might have envied him; to-day he might envy us, eh? So goes the world!” Napoleon nodded. “To each his just deserts,” he said. “What is to be, will be! And how is the other who was ill?” Using the vague term deliberately to con- ceal the fact that he might be asking for a person of either sex, Napoleon waited breathlessly. ‘“* Miss Kendall?” said Mark. “ Oh, you must ask Amelia that. She keeps informed upon all matters. I am too busy here.” He nodded across the landing, indicating the maid from the ladies’ room as he spoke. Napoleon saw her standing by the door. “Tt is well to keep busy,” he said. “ Evil finds only the idle!” And he moved off, crossing to join the woman opposite. “Well, how is Miss Kendall now?” he asked. “Up and off again, God knows where,” said Amelia sourly. “It seems we were wrong in thinking ’twas poison she’d taken, though I never see any one look as near like dead as she looked when they carried her into Mr. Silvers’s office. It must have Gomichbooks:com