Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

226 “{ got off the train at Albany and found a telegram informing me my sister was ill in London. I booked on the first boat and this happened to be the one. I’m alone on board. Glad of company.” “Then your two friends are not with you,” said Howard. ‘Oh, no. I don’t know them well. Just train acquaintances, you understand.” “But you all got off at Albany. they Albany men?” “Search me. One of them said he lived in New York. I suppose they had business to attend to. In fact, I didn’t see either of them when I got off that morning. I was half asleep anyway.” “Well, we’ve got to go to lunch,” said Rod. “I suppose that bugle is calling us.” “ That’s first sitting. I’m on the second; are you?” ‘We haven’t reserved places,” replied Rod. ‘ We'd better go do it.” “It’s all arranged,” Howard said with a wave of his hand. ‘‘ Miss Norman is getting us at her table.” “Then we had better find which sitting she has chosen.” Howard emptied his glass and rose re- juctantly. Higginson nodded to them and remarked: ‘“ See you later.” “What do you think?” Rod asked Howard. “Innocent as a child unborn. No crook could possibly have greeted me the way he did.” 5 “T don’t know. Did they seem like train acquaintances to you?” “They were together when I met them in the club car, but they might just have got acquainted.” - “ It’s funny, his being on this ship.” “Pure coincidence.” ‘How much money did you let those fel- lows think you had while you were losing to them at bridge?” “1 didn’t say.” “You intimated millions, didn’t you.” ‘““T suppose I talked pretty big,” Howard admitted, reddening at the recollection. ‘Well I have a notion that we are the reason he is on the Durania. If he thinks you have millions he wants to cultivate you and get more than twenty-two hundred. Are ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. There is something about that man I don’t like. Don’t know what it is, but I don’t trust him. And after all he is one of three who might have taken our money.” “What do you want me to do?” ‘** Let him cultivate you. Talk more mil- lions. Ill slip you some extra money to play cards with him, and see if he tries to get you to play for large sums. I have a hunch that we may get back what we lost.” * For a hick from Oklahoma, you are quite a schemer. You must have read a lot of detective stories. I think this poor guy is all right and had nothing to do with your twenty-two hundred. But the idea of being slipped some extra coin listens good, and [ll play the game your way.” They reached the dining saloon, found no places had been reserved for them and were allotted a table for two in the far cor- ner of the dining room at the second sitting. “This has its bad and good points,” commented Howard. “ It prevents us from immediately meeting some beautiful girls who might be sitting at a larger table. On the other hand it keeps freaks and bores from making our acquaintance, if by chance we drew them.” ‘“T don’t see anybody like that.” ‘* All persons over the age of thirty-five are either bores or freaks or both,” declared Howard with the presumption of youth. “T’ve met some right nice people who were middle aged or even old.” ; “On a trip like this we have no time for anybody that isn’t young and beautiful and amusing.” Rod laughed at him, ‘ Somehow I feel as though I was about fifty years older and a hundred years wiser than you. You are like a bad child I am taking around at great trouble and expense. Right after lunch I want you to come down to the cabin and copy fifty pages out of my Bible.” “For Heaven’s sake what for?’’ Howard protested in alarm. “To earn part of your salary and to satisfy my Scotch conscience that I am not paying something for nothing.” “ You are beginning to acquire a sort of inverted sense of humor and it’s going to Eomichooks (E)