Argosy All-Story Weekly, 4 February 1922 — page 145: what you’re looking at

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

BY WAY OF A CHAPERON. a5 seconds later she had crossed the wide hall and stood facing the formidable-looking doors that were still to be reckoned with. She managed to slip the chain without much noise, but the key grated in the lock. It seemed to echo through the silent house ‘as if giving a sudden alarm. Without: waiting to see the result, Jacqueline fled through the door and across the wide porch. She sat down on the step to put on her shoes, then jumped to the eround and started down the _ flower- boarded path to the road. Before she had gone more than a few steps an Airedale met her, wagging a friendly tail. “It’s all right, Barney,” she whispered, “only don’t for pity sakes tell me how glad you are to see me.” She wished she emergency. She could have provided against it with a bone that would have kept Barney quiet. If he once started barking it would be all up with her. Barney grinned and _ began about. ‘ Barney, please, please,”’ begged Jacque- line. “‘ Give me a chance—just to the road.” She didn’t dare run. She knew if she did Barney would come to the immediate conclusion that she was there simply for his pleasure. He would proclaim the fact proudly and insistently. Step by step she moved toward the road, pleading, commanding, begging Barney to be quiet. In a short time she stepped from the private grounds into the public high- way. “Good old -Barney!” She patted the dog’s head. “Go back now. No, you can’t come with me.” She left him a dim outline in the dusk, looking wistfully after her. As she walked briskly along the highroad she saw a rosy glow in the east and knew the sun would soon put in his cheerful appearance. The keen morning air made her eyes sparkle and her cheeks glow. She wondered why one never took wholesome, happy invigor- ating early morning walks unless driven to them by some grim necessity. The road was deserted. The places she passed were frisking had foreseen this large estates, still asieep except for occa- sional lights in the servants’ quarters. Jacqueline had never walked to the sta- tion before, and was surprised to find it so much farther than she imagined from the trip in the automobile. Before she reached it she was thankful her bag was not packed more heavily. The station seemed quite wide awake for such an early hour. She found there would be a way train to the city in five minutes, or she could wait for an expresss that was due in thirty-five minutes. “Much safer to take the local.” She glanced apprehensively around. “‘ There’s no telling who will drop in during the next thirty-five minutes.” There were quite a few passengers, but among them no one she recognized. Never- theless she sighed with relief when the train, after considerable hesitation, started for the city. In an express it had never seemed a long trip. Jacqueline soon felt that the local was exasperatingly sociable. At any sta- tion. it seemed quite content to. wait pa- tiently for friends to bid one another good-by before climbing leisurely aboard. And she never knew there were half the stations tucked away among those she was used to. But at last New York was reached. She immediately inquired about the trains for Boston. This was no occasion for a local. She demanded the speediest express on the time-table. When she found she had two hours and _twenty minutes on her hands she almost succumbed to the way train again. But with the recent experience so fresh in her. mind, she decided to stick out the two hours and twenty minutes. She bought her ticket and chair in the parlor car, then quite suddenly realized that she was al- most famished. In the excitement of her early morning adventure she had forgotten all about breakfast. . Breakfast! What a good idea, anyway. It would help pass the time. She turned into the station restaurant. Breakfast would help pass the time, She smiled graciously at the waiter ashe placed her at a table commanding a sweep- . comicbooks.c wat hay ee See ee Leyte, * RAMs ea” i O45 Sind {wie ' ear cee Pal ws be. oe er Ae,