The Argosy, November 1908 — page 55: what you’re looking at

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

AN ELUSIVE LEGACY. is to wait over a day longer, and take to-morrow’s train. We can but hope that she won’t recognize your face after you get there, and place you as some one from Ravenswood.” But Behan scoffed at such an excess of caution, and so ridiculed the idea of delaying his departure that finally, espe- cially since he did not further press his desire for the introduction, Weatherby gave a reluctant assent. It must not be supposed, however, that the young man had by any means re- linquished his yearning to meet and know the charming girl whose name had so appositely leaped to his lips. It occurred to him rather that by leaving the matter to chance, his wish was almost certain to be accomplished, and that, too, without necessarily dis- closing his identity. He knew that a long railway trip is like an ocean voyage, conducive to informal acquaintanceship, and he felt also that, should necessity arise, he had a very potent instrument wherewith to break the social ice in the little black box with the sliding shutter which he carried in its leather-case at his side. Therefore, in deference to Weather- by’s entreaties, he did not follow her into the Pullman when the train steamed into » the station, but boarding an ordinary day coach, rode a hundred miles or so up the road before he finally claimed the berth which he had engaged. Nor, when he ultimately went back, did he intrude himself at all upon her notice. His play for the present, he felt, was like that of the philosophic “ Br’er Rabbit” to “lay low an’ say nuffin’”’ ; and wrapped in his seeming indifference, he richly enjoyed the discomfiture of the two or three other male passengers who endeavored to obtrude officious and ‘unwelcome attentions upon the girl. The second day out, though, he had an opportunity to show her one or two small courtesies in a natural, gentlemanly fash- ion, and at last during the afternoon, when the train stopped at a division point to change engines, he decided that his time had come. Miss Prentice, pinning on her hat, left the car for a stroll up and down the platform, and Behan snatching up his camera, followed hard in her wake. 621 To all appearances, the two were com- pletely oblivious of each other’s presence on the fifty feet or so of asphalt which they mutually occupied; but the photog- rapher, casting an occasional surreptitious glance out of the corner of his eye, did not fail to note that as he produced his camera and started to operate it, the girl grew visibly interested. Unconsciously her pace seemed to slacken when she passed him in her brisk up-and-down saunter, and she threw more and more frequent glances over her shoulder in his direction. At last, she paused, hesitated, and drew near. ‘Don’t you think that would make a prettier picture of the place?” she sug- gested diffidently, pointing in the oppo- site direction from that in which Behan was aiming his lens. ‘ At least, that is how I should like best to remember the place.” Dick turned, carefully concealing his elation, and scrutinized through half- closed eyes the prospect she had indi- cated—a_ stretch of meadow-land through which ran a winding river in the foreground, and farther on the cluster- ing houses of the little town, with an artistic detail of gray stone church tower to the rear. He glanced from her to it, and back to her again. ‘Then he decided that the fitting time had come to make a bold stroke. “Yes,” he said slowly, “it would make an ideal view—with one addition.” “One addition?” she questioned. “What is that?” “You in the front of it,” he answered with a laughing sparkle of challenge in his eyes. For a moment he feared he had been over-precipitate. She flushed, bit her lip vexedly, and seemed about to turn away. But, after all, it is a rare beauty who can resist the fascination of being photo- graphed, and Daffodil was no more im- mune to the spell of the little black box than the majority of her sisters. ‘“We-ell,” she assented at last; “ that is, if you are really certain the picture needs a figure in it to give proper effect. But tell me first,’’ she paused with anx- lous inquiry, “is my hat on straight?” Comicbooksicom