Argosy: The Short Story Magazine — page 93: what you’re looking at

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

> | es ee a a ee my - " ’ HEART OF THE STORM 93 tray beside the others. Then she turned round. Kelston saw an oval-shaped face, framed by black hair. She was about twenty- eight. Perhaps younger. It was hard to tell. Her skin looked smooth and young. But those smoke-coloured eyes had seen things of which the rest of her body had been blissfully unconscious. She came towards them and put out her hand a little shyly. *“ I too wish to say thank you.”’ She spoke the English words too correctly, too carefully, with none of the slurring of over-familiarity. ““ And now,” she said, holding up the tray, “ coffee Take this cup. It is a little less cracked than the others.” Kelston took the cup she recommended. Olivarez said, ‘‘ You see how well she looks after me. Karena is as valuable as one of my ships to me.’’ Then he added, ‘‘ And far less worry.” “*’That’s only because I don’t go to sea.” ‘““ Good secretaries sit in offices. You are a good secretary.” They both drank their coffee. Karena went outside to wash their cups, and returned to refill them. “ I’ll take the tray down to them now.” Kelston said, “‘ Let me take the urn. ‘That would be easier.”’ She walked lightly and carefully down the corridor in the beam of light from the door, holding the tray high in her hands. Kelston saw the quiet grace of her slight body, her small, well-shaped head, ~ her short hair glowing softly in the brief light, before she gradually merged into the darkness at the end of the corridor. She swung the door open. ‘“ Four steps,” she called back. ‘““ Can you see all right? ” *‘ Fine.” He put the urn down. The families crowded up, and she called out quickly, ‘‘ No more news yet. Just some coffee for you.” Kelston filled the cups while she handed them round. The same cups came back and were refilled and refilled. ‘“‘ Not very hygienic, I suppose,’ she laughed. Her face was close to his, as she held a cup under the tap. ‘‘ But no one minds. Not tonight.”’ She mingled with the crowd, sympathizing, encouraging, smiling. She knew all their names, and like theirs, her eyes wandered continuously to the wide black emptiness beyond the harbour wall. When she was no longer beside him, he felt like a stranger intruding on a family trouble, and he went back inside. ‘“* Karena is talking to them,”’ he said, as he closed the office door. Olivarez was gazing out of the window that faced south towards the harbour mouth. ‘I should be there, too,” he said, “* but I am as fearful as they are. No use at words of comfort. Karena will say them for me.” Suddenly he stared hard at Kelston. “ Listen,’’ he muttered, ‘“‘ wasn’t that the wind on the window? ” “IT can’t hear anything.”’ “I thought for a moment it was the wind.” The shipowner looked at his watch. ‘“ Just a little longer,’ he said to it, as though begging a favour. His head nodded, counting the seconds. ‘‘ One seems so powerless.” comicbooks.conn —