Argosy All-Story Weekly, August 9, 1924 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

WHITE EYE, “You'll have to go back to hair oil and bay rum, Braulio,” he added with an attempt at lightness at sight of his attendant’s star- ing consternation. Braulio shrugged helplessly and gave a furtive glance toward the dresser. Larry knew he was thinking what a queer folk eringos were—just a little loco, and yet to be taken care of as one cares for a captious child. Abruptly the door opened and admitted a young girl—a lithe and vivid little beauty of not much more than seventeen years. Her skin was a clear olive. Her eyebrows were narrow and arched above humid dark eyes magnificently brilliant and luminous with feeling. A bright-colored mantilla draped her head. Her dress, too, was gay, and sufficiently diaphanous to reveal the supple lines of her body. With a noiseless, graceful movement she crossed to where Larry sat with his back to her. Placing her hands over his eyes, she stood poised and waiting, as light and erect as a reed, a mischievous smile on her soft red lips. Seizing her hands, Larry drew her for- ward until her face was above his own. She pressed her warm lips to his forehead, and stepping from behind the chair, seated her- self on one of the arms, running her fingers caressingly through his thick curls. ‘‘Where are you dancing to-night, Car- mencita?”’ he asked. ‘“ At the Leon de Oro!” ‘What time will you be through?” “‘ Midnight, tal vez. Coming over?” ‘No, not to-night, Chica. I’m not go- ing anywhere.” She drew his face around and gazed in- quiringly into his eyes. “You look friste to-night, Laree. Has something upset you?” His head fell listlessly against the back of the chair. He stared speculatively at her before answering. | “Pve lost my position, Carmencita. I may have to leave Guatemala.” She laughed lightly, and clasped his head tightly in her arms. ‘“‘ Foolish one, to worry over so small a thing! Have I not a good position now? All the money—” 181 His bitter laugh interrupted her. “Gran Dios! No—not that, Chica!” Then, noting her perplexity— “ It’s some- thing you do not understand, Carmencita. We will not talk about it any more.” He rose and moved over toward the win- dow. Carmencita studied him intently for a few moments. Having reached a conclusion, she crossed decisively to his side and threw her arms around his neck. ‘“‘ If you leave me, Laree, I shall follow!” she said, kissed him ardently on the cheek, and was gone. Again he lapsed into unhappy musings. It must be he was a weakling. How else could he ever have got tangled up like this? Life was just a web in which every move- ment one made only drew the cables tighter. Take this case of Carmencita’s. How was he to know, that first night he went to Panama Joe’s dance hall, he would see her? Or again after she pulled the rose from her hair and tossed it to him? What else could he do than come to her rescue when that drunken, jealous, mad Colonel Flores started beating her? Perhaps it would have been better if the knife had found his heart instead of his lung that night. In that case Carmencita couldn’t have appointed herself his nurse for those weary weeks. Then, he couldn’t very well order her out of the house after he got on his feet. What a queer outlook she had on life! The fact that Panama Joe bought her out of a disreputable house never seemed to weigh very heavily on her spirits. How she had ridiculed him, when he tried to point out the impropriety of her staying on here with him after he was able to wait on himself! He didn’t know but that Carmencita presented a great deal big- ger problem than the white eye. How fiercely she loved and hated—and how little she asked in return for her love! He had made it plain to her from the first that he looked upon her only as a good pal. She seemed entirely satisfied with this arrangement. Only the other day she had told him: “ You do not love me, Laree! Muy bien. So long as there is no one else I am content.” When he had teasingly added: “ And if there was some one else?” CoOnniclooo SS (C@)