Argosy, September 1955 — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

. Pak geee foe at "tia no oS r ‘a. SUMMER IN SALANDAK 43 “Ts there anything to be superstitious about? ”’ ** Not a thing.” ‘““'Then why do you suppose they’re superstitious? ”’ ‘“‘’They hate being alone,’”’ he said. “Don’t you? ”’ she said. *“ Not a bit,” he said. “I rather like it—’’ Abruptly he realized what he had said and he felt his confidence, which had been mount- _ing and strengthening, suddenly recede. Confusedly he tried to retrieve it and said, ‘“‘ I didn’t mean it quite like that—I meant I liked being alone in the sense that I wasn’t frightened of it—’’ “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” she said. ‘‘ Here comes the food. It looks like some sort of pie—is it, Manuel? is it a pie? ”’ “Yes, madame,” he said. ‘“‘ It is steak and kidney. Made in the English way.”’ After lunch, as they had coffee outside, under a tree he kept telling her was an arbutus, though he was not sure and it was only a way of getting his confidence back, she said, “* About this place. Would you like to go? ”’ ** T’d love to,” he said. Her eyes, always so large and incorrigibly assertive and appar- ently forceful, seemed suddenly uncertain. She ran her hand across the streak of paler hair and said, “ It isn’t one of those evil places, is it? You know—nothing to do with the dead?” ‘‘ It’s just high and lonely,” he said. ‘“‘ It’s the crowning point of the island. ‘That’s all.’ She stared across the valley, to a far glitter of sun on harsh iron rock, and Manson remembered how Manuel had stared across the valley too. *“You’d really like to go, wouldn’t you?” she said. ‘* We’d have to go alone, I suppose? Manuel wouldn’t come.” He felt an ascendant rush of triumph at the thought of being alone with her. “1 don’t think it need bother us,”’ he said. ‘ It isn’t that far.” For a moment she did not answer. She had slipped off the dress she had put on to cover her sun-suit during lunch and once again he found himself thinking how taut and mature her body looked, emerging naked and smooth pale brown from the costume of vivid green. If only he could have rubbed out, somehow, the disturbing streak of paler hair. “You really think it’s not one of those evil places? ”’ she said. * Nothing to do with the dead? ”’ *“ No more than anywhere else has.”’ They arranged to start next morning at nine; but when Manson came out of his bedroom and went out onto the verandah he’ dis- covered Miss Vane and Manuel talking at the foot of the steps. Manuel had rigged up a pole on which, at each end, he had hooked a basket for luncheon. As he saw Manson coming he hoisted the pole to his shoulder, balancing the basket on its smooth curve. With vexation Manson said, “‘ I thought Manuel wasn’t coming.” *“ He’s coming as far as lunch,’? Miss Vane said. ‘“‘ Then if we want to go on any farther--” commiclbooks.conn