The Argosy — page 220: what you’re looking at

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

A Marnage from the Stage. 203 she knew that the tall Italian was a mere puppet in the hands of the young English athlete. The storm cleared off as suddenly as it had come on, and by mid- night nothing was left of it in the calm air but the slow dripping of the trees. A bright light was still coming from the windows of the house, and to the solitary man outside it seemed as if this one glowing spot contained all that was worth loving or hating in this world. Smarting from Raughan’s whip, his hopes dashed to the ground and rejected by the one human being for whom life had seemed desirable, Gabriel prowled round the house from which he had been cast out for ever. He walked noiselessly over the terrace and crept round to the drawing-room windows. ‘They were open, and he could see Claudia sitting at the further end writing. Arthur might be coming down in a few minutes. Her face was pale, but it wore a restful look that he had not seen there for a long time. Doubtless they were reconciled, and she would be happy for a short time again. Well—and the sense of his utter loneliness flashed upon him as he looked in. Turning again he glanced back at the dark sky, the wet lawn; he heard the night wind sigh and rustle in the trees, which flung down heavy drops to the ground. Inside all was light, and there was the one human being worth living for or dying with. He stept in. Claudia looked up, startled, seeing who it was, in spite of his dragegled clothes and disordered hair. She rose and walked towards the bell. With whirling head Gabriel staggered forward and intercepted her. No word was spoken between them. Claudia did not scream when he snatched the dagger from her waist with his trembling hands; she only caught his wrist and turned her flashing eyes full upon him. For a few moments they stood staring, both reading in each other’s eyes a fixed determination. ‘Then suddenly Gabriel drew back his hand from her grasp. Arthur Raughan was smoking upstairs, thinking idly over all that had happened. He felt happy and contented with his own behaviour, and with Claudia. He would go down directly and be very pleasant to her; after all, she was loving, and really did her best to make what she could of the situation. As he lounged into the’ drawing- room, his smile froze into a look of horror. “The housekeeper remembers well that terrible night,” Smith said, putting down his MS. ‘How Raughan nearly went mad, and how the servants ran about wringing their hands in the helpless way natural to them. The Limes was put into the hands of Mrs. Fitz- gerald’s father, and Arthur lived abroad till his death, The house CcomicoooKks (CO) an