Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

172 “Hell try something like that pretty soon, unless one of us digs up enough to pay him,” Nora murmured. And then she ceased her murmuring and dropped her brushes and whirled about, suddenly glori- fied. “And one of us will!” she cried. ‘““We came here to beat the game, and we'll beat it without calling on anybody for help—and we’ll keep a roof over our heads while we’re beating it! Don’t ever make any mistake about that, honey child!” ‘* No—Nora,” breathed her cousin. Also, she nodded assent to these brave words; and through several seconds Nora waited, for it was customary on occasions of this character for Cynthia to respond with a few more fiery, heartening senti- ments of her own, after which both of them felt better. Just now, however, Cynthia’s smile was growing far-away and dreary. “Nora, it would be perfectly hideous to order onions, wouldn’t it?” “ What?” “With the steak, I mean. I’m going to order a big, thick steak. I—I suppose it would be unspeakable, but, somehow, I’d just about sell one arm for onions fried the way mother fries them back home, and—”’ “ Pah!” said her cousin, and returned to her painting. “JY know. I’m unworthy. I can’t help it,’ Cynthia sighed, and consulted the clock again. ‘ Oh, he ought to be here in eleven minutes now, if he hasn’t been blocked any- where!” “Well, when he does get here,” said Nora, growing mildly waspish in her ex- asperation, “ why don’t you borrow a ten- dollar bill from him and buy yourself a side of beef and a bushel of potatoes and—” “Why, I’d die before I’d let Billy know that we’re really hungry!” Cynthia cried, her usually sweet voice quite shrill with horrified amazement. “ I would, Nora! I’d die before I’d let him know we can’t even earn our rent and meals! I’m never going to tell him, even after we’ve been married years and years. He’d think I was utterly incompetent and— Why, I’d as soon think of asking Uncle Dan to help us!” ‘“T know,” mumbled Nora, and bent closer to her canvas. ‘“ Then stop watching the clock, kid. You fuss me!” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “TI didn’t mean to,” Cynthia said, sub- missively, and obediently took to studying the little silken frock as she smoothed it across her knees. It was a very pretty frock, too. Upon Cynthia, who could have adorned a gown of burlap bagging, it was positively ravishing; yet it was none too pretty to be worn for the delectation of the world’s one perfect young man, William Brander. You, of course, might not have been able to perceive the flaming perfection of this William. It was a quantity which had never penetrated to Nora’s understanding, and she had seen him at close range a good many times. In Nora’s too cool estimation Wil- liam was merely a rather dark and rather handsome young man, some inches shorter than she herself fancied them, full of en- ergy, always immaculate. On the other hand, she at least recognized that William owned a quick, hot temper, that he ran to unreasoning and unreasonable jealousies. It was Nora’s notion that, unless all cranial and facial signs are deliberately menda- cious, William could be quite a violent and elemental person when sufficiently roused. However, it was Cynthia, and not Nora that William was to marry some time or other. 3 Cynthia ceased smoothing the silk, glanced covertly at the clock, just once, and quietly opened the window and peered downward—and then closed the window with a slam and whizzed to her feet, all radiant. : ‘“ He’s here!” she cried. “ He just came in!” Your dinner?” “My Billy!” said Cynthia, and ran to the outer door of the little suite and waited, hand upon knob—waited until the elevator came up and the door opened and closed again—waited until a firm, quick step came down the hall, and then, without restraint, threw open her own door and, ere he had more than crossed the threshold, cast her- self into the very ready arms of William Brander. Nora glanced over her shoulder just once and went on painting. She had witnessed this same performance a number of times before. Another minute and they’d be in —_ COPNIGLOOO KS (E@)