Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

“And don’t mention this to Aunt Faith, by the way. We can’t afford to fret her.” “If ever you do anything like this again, 1’ll tell Aunt Faith!’? Miss Ames responded warningly. ‘“I—I can’t even kiss you good-by with that black thing staring at us.” She backed the car with a petulant jerk and prepared to leave. ‘‘ You're com- ing to see me to-night?” “T am if I possibly can. If I don’t get around until to-morrow night, don’t worry, dear. Business—” Miss Ames merely tossed her head at the word. An instant she looked at Mr. Harley all the things, kindly and otherwise, that she felt. Then she sped away. John returned, quivering, to the red car, the painfully clean and decent part of him seared and writhing. Had there been a convenient pistol, he fancied that he would have placed it firmly against his right tem- ple and pulled the trigger with much vigor and enthusiasm. There being none, he climbed in beside Miss Wicks again, head down. “ Gracious!” said that young woman. “ Quite breken your spirit, hasn’t it?” “T don’t like that sort of thing!” Mr. Harley grunted. “Then you ought to be mere careful and not let designing little cats like that think they’ve trapped you, precious,” Althea said, and patted his cheek. “ Don’t worry about that shallow little moron another minute; she’s beginning to understand the dreadful catastrophe that is about te come into her ‘young life; I saw that in her eye. What did she say, by the way?” ~ “ Oh—she just wanted me to ride with her.” “And you refused. Well, that’s a very good, well-behaved little boy,” commended Miss Wicks. ‘‘ We'll just lounge along be- hind and let her get well ahead. What were you telling me abeut when that fool thing happened, Jackie?” “T give it up; I don’t remember,” John said dismally. Some little time Miss Wicks rolled slowly on in silence. Mr. Harley beside her slumped down again, but it was no com- fortable posture this time; it was merely _ the sickened droop of a young man whose TA GOOD LOOKING AND RICH. ne shame, Once upon a time in Ebbridge there had been a youth named Bostwick, a being too beautiful to live, over whom several girls had grown quite irresponsible. The high enjoyment with which Bostwick had viewed this deplorable condition had placed him, in John’s estimation, several strata below the ordinary earth worm. Well, he was no bet- ter than Bostwick, now! Here on a back road two girls had all but come to battle over the possession of him and—ugh! He craved Wolcott, sober thinker and unfailing friend, the one steady and de- pendable spot in a crazy, reeling world. Why in Heaven’s name couldn’t she hurry him back to Wolcott, instead of lagging along like this? He sighed rather noisily. Once he got to good old Wolcott, they’d lock the door and go to it! They’d even have dinner sent up to the rooms, for the crowd and the noise in the inn dining room would be certain to slow down their dis- cussion. Yes, they’d have a darned light dinner sent up, too, for much food clogs the brain and much precious time must be given to its assimilation and— 3 “ Honey boy, whatever makes you sigh like that?’”’ Miss Wicks asked. “Was I sighing?” John muttered. “ Like a furnace! You’re worrying about her, aren’t you?” “Mildred? Er—no!” “Ah, I thought you were. Jaekie, I'll tell you what we’ll do: we'll teH dad the whole story and let him deal with it in his own way!” “ Hey?” Mr. Harley sat up. “Oh, he can handle it, dearest!” Althea assured John. ‘“ Dad’s a regular cyclone when he gets wound up. He’ll go to the little idiot’s father and lay down the law— and that’s really all there'll be to it, and then you and I can be just as contented and happy and—” ‘““ Well, I won’t let you do anything like that!” John cried violently. “ That ’ll get to Aunt Faith, of course, and probably— no, I wen’t let you do anything like that!” Bumping along at a snail’s pace, Miss Althea censidered him thoughtfully for a moment; her teeth showed then in a smile. COME ———— very vitals were smoldering in the fire of