Argosy All-Story Weekly — 'The Metal Monster' — page 144: what you’re looking at

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

138 Still, Thomas did not mind so very much. The night elevator-boy, doubtless, was in- dulging in one of the series of short naps during the hours of darkness. When the bell in his car had rung long enough and loudly enough to rouse all the rest of Braydon, the boy would blink his way back to consciousness and ascent. It did not matter. No, the one great consideration, as Thomas perceived in his blessed five-minute lull, was that Mary had left. So far as a man thoroughly in love with and engaged to another girl can be in such a state, he was in love with Mary—just as he had been ever since childhood, just as were a dozen viher-yeine men in Braydon—in a sort of semibrotherly way. As he had dem- onstrated this evening, he would go to con- siderable lengths to serve Mary and would rejoice in the task. | But he was glad that Mary had moved along now! Oh, he was so very, very glad that Mary had departed! Thomas whistled softly to himself, once or twice, and de- voted several seconds to blinking and look- ing about the dear, familiar place. Really, it had been an experience, but— well, he must have passed the age for get- ting any real enjoyment out of such experi- ences. Many scares had wearied Thomas in the extreme. He would just loll here ‘for five more minutes, he fancied, before leaping into action again and telephoning Dora and finding the car for Mary. Thomas lolled. And having lolled for the first half of the first minute, Thomas bounced out of his chair almost automatically. That new knock, sharp and fast and light, was a sound radically different from William Em- erson’s last manner of announcing his pres- ence, but it was William’s knock, never- theless! fore he had taken even one step. What had brought Bill back? Had Mary collapsed, after alle Had William managed to startle a word out of her? Had Mary— Thomas shook himself together with an ef- fort and crossed to his door. He had gone beyond the power of enduring specu- lation; one or two.more conjectures, and he would be shrieking! . ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. This Thomas knew to be fact be- @ Calmly enough, he opened the door. °° He even succeeded in starting slightly and quite naturally, as he said: “ Why—Bill!” | Mr. Emerson’s hands were in his trousers’ pockets now. Lips curling, he looked Thomas up and .down. He shrugged his shoulders and glanced back over one of them, toward the figure standing near the elevator-shaft. His lips curled further and he stepped in. “Cur!” he said simply. “* Hey?” demanded Thomas. | William laughed, briefly and unpleas- antly. | “Henning, you’re just the dirty dog I fancied you, after all!’ he remarked. ‘Well, that’s very flattering,” Thomas stated, albeit his heart jumped suddenly. “ It is something that just occurred to you, Emerson—some little stray thought that ‘you just couldn’t keep in and had to come back and tell me?” “ Pah!” said William. “ Drop that cas- ual rot! J know her now!” “ Ah—here?”’ breathed Thomas. “The lady in the armor, Henning!” the lady’s husband said, quite specifically. It is entirely possible that the whole room did not rise a full eighteen or twenty inches into the air and settle down again with a bone-breaking, incredibly soundless crash. Such, nevertheless, was the impression of Thomas Henning. Because Bill knew! Bill knew Mary! Bill had somehow identified her—and what was about to happen now Heaven itself could hardly foretell. Moments like this meant the end of everything for all con- cerned in them—moments like this witness the first step up that grisly path that ends in the electric-chair! And in spite of all that, Bill seemed strangely calm for an outraged husband. Perhaps that was the way these powerful, characterful people handled such situations. That Wilham would endeavor to slaughter his one-time friend Within the next two or three minutes was a foregone conclusion, but he had a weird way of approaching the awful act. His fine teeth bared, his eyes saying things unutte: ane, he merely stood there. \ ECOMRRIC OG SH co ww