Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 17, 1924 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

166 and so forth, ad finitum, also nauseam. What did you say her name was?” ‘* T haven’t said yet,”’ Manse grinned. “ I made this engagement with you in order that I might announce her name down at this office. It is rather a remote spot, no ladies present, and the people living here are accustomed to your manners.” Manse hesitated a moment as if prepar- ing himself for the explosion which he ex- pected. Then he spoke a name intc the ears of his parent: ** Miss Lois Roone!”’ “No, no, no!” Verdell howled, springing to his feet. “No, no, no! Blank-dash it, no! Never in a thousand years! I won’t have a red-headed, snub-nosed, ill-tempered Roone around me—no!” “The lady I refer to is golden-haired, dainty, piquant - featured, vivacious—” Manse began, and then broke off, for his father’s manifestation of wrath was such that he seemed about to destroy himself by his internal violence. ““ No!” Verdell howled. “ We’re talking about the same person, but the viewpoint is different. I’m referring to that baby- faced, feeble-minded, bob-haired, bobtail daughter of that old white-headed, white- whiskered, whited sepulcher of an imbecile, hypocrite, and moral paralytic, Gabe Roone!” There was a good deal more of this sort of thing, and then old Verdell subsided, and for a time nothing was said by either father or son. Manse was serene, his father seeth- ing with internal emotion. Forty years before, a difference of opin- ion had arisen between Roone and Verdell over a line fence. Roone raised fine horses, and wanted a smooth-wire fence. Verdell raised fine cattle, and wanted a barbed- wire fence. The two could never agree, so each built the kind of fence he wanted. Between their two beautiful plantations there were two fences, one foot apart, one of smooth wire and one of barbed wire, run- ning for a mile in length. The space be- tween the two men was wider than their fences. The distance had been increased by countless annoyances and irritations through the years, based on social, political and busi- ness rivalry. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. To Manse the whole thing was ridiculous. To Lois Roone it was absurd. They saw no reason why they could not pull down both fences and unite the plantations into one. Manse tossed aside his cigarette and stood up. “TI think I'll go tell Lois what you think about her,” he grinned. “Huh!” Mr. Verdell grunted. Outside the door he took his lucky terra- pin in his hand and stood caressing its-slick, hard back. Then he looked up and gazed at his irate and explosive father with the most disarming and engaging boyish smile, and said: ‘‘ Good-by, sweetie!” CHAPTER IV. A PROBLEM FOR COLONEL ROONE, OLONEL GABE ROONE was occu- 2 pying his favorite seat on a side porch under the shade of a big pecan tree. On the other side of that tree was a lawn swing. Near the swing Tucker Roone and a little neighbor girl were playing. Buckety sat near the trunk of the tree, playing with a terrapin. At intervals Roone could catch phrases of their conversation. The word circus caught his ear and stirred his attention. There is magic in that word as long as one lives on the earth. Listening, Roone learned that the youngsters were planning a circus parade. “We can put our cat in a box and haul ~* it on my little wagon,” the little girl said. “ That will be our tiger.” “And we will put my new owl in some kind of cage, and that will be our American eagle,” Tuck suggested. “TI knows what us kin git a goat, and *twon’t be no trouble to git plenty of dogs,” Buckety contributed to the conversation. ““ Of course, we can get the monkey and put him in the show, and maybe we can borrow Old Flounce’s parrot; but we will have to borrow him without letting Flounce know,” Tuck proposed. “We can get calves and ponies and pigs,” the girl announced. ‘“‘T know a feller who has got a pet coon and some white rabbits,” Tuck declared. Coniclooks (C@