Argosy, Vol. 147, No. 1 — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

» “- ' 2 ee qo — ~ #4 gid 7 © Oa ae ahr ae eS A Cet. ee a al ol Sl . een Pye ey q. . ' : ies a ‘AL jt. ir ' he «ie wu nec while she waited, but put estion in different words. The girl ited the books, but could find no rec- . “ Evidently Mme. Selma was in a, ty; but I should value the hat in the hborhood of one hundred dollars.” ve ed to the door for air, mum- something about Mrs. Steele being to adjust the matter. | while Vie had been having a per- sctly lovely time at Mrs. Jellico’s—had ae tea and heard all the details of the isappearance of the silverware while Mrs. lico, who resembled a ripe fig, was at the yeach. She brought the rotund little wo- nan back to the apartment to show off her oF Le handiwork. And to the horror of both he big gold-and-blue box was gone! is A frantic search of the premises by Vie fhile Mrs. Jellico, who had just gone hrough a similar experience, stood tapping the floor with her foot. She knew precise- what to do when Mrs. Steele would ask jer advice. This Vie did finally. “Call the police, of course,” said Mrs. «but it isn’t likely to do any good. th" yes _ who examined window sills, ambs; looked suspiciously ause she happened to be ses of thievery in one day; to ask questions. First inute description of the missing C ». They they came to the valuation. He put the value up as one | > one else to pay for it. she replied, 19) oF a 1° a ‘ag Te a , = ~ val satcat - et, & A, Tita fa ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. never get anything back once its ‘The station was appealed to, nevertheless, i responded promptly by sending two de- door at Mrs. Jellico, a figure in two and finally be- they demanded article, gave it to them as only she was able generally and expects “ At least a perhaps a hundred and twenty-five exchanging a look with ico, who puckered her lips in elo- ‘subtleties women stand together tives said they would concen- ne case and left the premises, but aoreed that any woman end a hundred bucks When Oliver got back from the milliner’s he was a little fearful of what he had done. He- let himself into the apartment without much ostentation. It was a desperate risk to seize a bull by the horns and try to escape injury, and that is precisely what he felt he had done. It remained to be seen whether he could finish the operation tri- umphantly or be rolled in the dust of defeat and humiliation. Vie, on her part, trembled, too, when she heard the footfall of her liege lord. To buy a new hat was cause enough for a domestic difference of opinion, but to lose it immedi- ately thereafter precipitated a situation that must be handled with the greatest care. But Oliver gave her no opportunity to open the subject. ‘“ Well, my dear,” he be- gan peremptorily, “ what was the general idea in purchasing a hat fit for a millionaire when I am without an income?” Vie had risen to greet him. Now she sat down again, abruptly. He knew! ““T was so sore at sight of it that I car- ried it back to Mme. Selma’s without delay. You can go down to-morrow and get your money back.” He was secretly amazed at his own force- fulness. Mrs. Steele was on her feet. “ You—yow took the hat back! Then it wasn’t stolen at all?” “ Stolen! about?” She fanned herself a moment while strug- gling to adjust herself to this latest develop- ment. Then she told him of the detectives and the cause of their visit. But he was not concerned with the supposed theft. “ What mental aberration inspired you to invest a hundred dollars in a hat in our pres- ent circumstances?” he demanded with some heat. “ At atime when we are living on one vegetable—” “ A hundred?” interrupted Vie. “ Why, I paid only fifteen dollars for it, you sim- pleton! Those were my own plumes.” Whatever are you talking “What?” “Syre! Douglas sent them to me from California. He’s on an ostrich farm now. I was keeping them for a surprise. You . - ness. We must rush right made a fine mess of things by your hasti- Mme. - ~ te ie ea). iT a eee — . pen eae ee : ; = ™ ani #13 ar) rae he Ee 2. its, “5 a aia oe Pe. ee sai — we a 3 St ae ae atc * ; aig Se ( (ele) S.cOmM ry a es + wens , > .