Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 103: what you’re looking at

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

SOFT lutely a victim of her beauty and gracious- ness. It was not the first time that he had been in love, for he was susceptible to a remark- able degree. There had been a half dozen girls during his college course, most of whom he would have married had he been in a position to support a wife, and as each came along he had been convinced that she was his only true passion. Mary Norman’s sweetness and attractive- ness had begun to have the usual effect when he first set eyes on Gertrude. Her hauteur and apparent bad temper had frozen him, but now that he knew what *she really was like, he let himself go com- pletely. That she was rich, and he did not have a dollar, no longer suggested itself; there was no self interest in his passion. As he walked along the promenade deck he passed Miss Potter-Dunlap without seeing her, and when she spoke to him he answered her in a most absent-minded fashion.. She re- ported this to her mother as suspicious. He had to talk about Gertrude to some one, so he went down to his stateroom where he found Rod had again established himself. ‘You are all wrong about Miss Thomas,” he declared as soon as he had flung his cap on the lower berth. “ She’s the .sweetest and most charming girl in the world.” “You can’t prove it by me,” said Rod grimly. “I should have thought some sense of decency would have made you keep away from her after what she did to me. But you wait. . If she had me locked up for making one remark, she will probably have you hanged for walking around the deck with her.” “Darn it, Rod, that was all a mistake. It was her mother who complained to the captain, not Gertrude.” ‘““* Gertrude!’ You travel fast on short acquaintance. If she hadn’t complained to her mother, mother wouldn’t have told the captain. Isn’t that logic?” “T tell you it was a complete misunder- standing and now she wants to talk to you and explain everything.”’ “You mean you have been fixing things up, as usual.” MONEY, 253 ‘Well, of course, I try to do my best for you all the time. After all, I’m working for you.” “Thank you for nothing. Miss Thomas is one person on this ship who isn’t going to talk to me.” “Then you are a darned old sorehead. I think it is only fair to tell you that I’ve fallen for her hard. If you fire me for doing it, and I have to swim back to Amer- ica, I’m going to let her bask in the favor of my countenance just as much as she will go in for basking.” “What could she say to me? There’s nothing to explain. It’s the most open and shut case I ever heard of. She’s just got curious to know what her victim is like; wants to see if I’m filled with sawdust.” ‘All right. You heard about the Potter- Dunlap jewel robbery?” ‘Not a word. I haven’t been talking to anybody much.” Howard told him the facts as they were known to the passengers. ‘““T’ve been the goat so far on board this ship, I suppose they’ll try to pin this on to me,” growled Rod. “You've got an alibi. You were in dur- ance vile. But I was around with the Dun- laps all last evening, danced with the daughter, flattered the mother and made a fool of myself.” 4 Why?” In his new birth of love Howard was ashamed of his mercenary ideas of the day before. He colored. ‘I had a‘notion I might shine up to the girl. She’s as rich as mud. But nothing like that now. If Gertrude Thomas won’t have me, Ill never marry.” “Miss Thomas is rich, too. Didn’t Miss Norman say so?” ‘““T don’t care anything about money. By the way, I’m flat. Can I borrow twenty on next week’s salary?” | Rod shelled out. “Don’t ask me to come to visit you when you are married. I’m one friend of yours that your wife won’t have near the house; that is, if she marries you.” He grinned, despite the unaccountably jealous feeling that Howard’s matrimonial declara- tion had caused him to feel, ‘If she mar- GEomichbooks (E(0)