The Argosy, Vol. 76, No. 3 — page 241: what you’re looking at

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

A LUCKY SIGN. “What uncle?” demanded Mrs. Charteris. “Why, Mr. John Westwood,” an- swered Sally lightly. Then, with a smothered exclama- tion, she stepped swiftly to the other side of the doorway and pulled at a little placard that hung there. It came away in her hand, leaving one torn red corner hanging to a tack. Mrs. Charteris’s maid, Angélique, who was next in line, sprang forward. “ Madame, look!” she cried shrilly, snatching the card which Sally was trying clumsily to stuff under her coat. “Look, madame! It is ze smallpox—in zis house!” Mrs. Charteris turned swiftly. ‘‘ Smallpox!” she exclaimed. “ What do you mean? Smallpox?” By this time Sally had recovered herself. ‘Oh, no!” she cried. “ Oh, no! Not smallpox. Only scarlet- fever. There isn’t the slightest dan- ger, Mrs. Charteris. The house has been thoroughly fumigated.” “* Only scarlet - fever!’ ”’ screamed Mrs. Charteris in a voice from which all the honey had departed. “‘‘ Only scarlet fever!’ And you dared, you dared to bring me into a house reek- ing with that!” “Oh, but smell the disinfectants!” pleaded Sally. | The disinfectants were there fast enough, the hall smelled to high heaven, but their odors had anything but a soothing effect upon Mrs. Ron- ald Charteris. She proceeded to express her opin- ion of Miss Sally Reynolds in terms which Sally afterward declared ren- dered her quite immune from being called a “lady real-estate agent ’” any more. “ But don’t you understand? It’s all right. Her uncle is taking her away!” pleaded Sally again when the first lull came in the storm. “Where to?” The Madonna look had dropped away like a mask. “Oh; somewhere in Europe for the whole winter,” urged Sally eagerly. 711 ‘“There’s not’ the slightest danger of contagion, really, my dear Mrs, Char- teris.” “I wrote your lawyers,” declared Sally. “They said nothing would make you give up the house—and the lease was quite unbreakable—and you had paid your rent—and the check was cashed—” “TI do not care how much I have paid!” declared Mrs. Charteris. “TI will not live in this house! I will not live in this town!”’ and again her lan- guage was such as no “lady real- estate agent’ should have listened to. “You are quite right, Mrs. Char- * teris,” Sally agreed soothingly. “I told Mrs. Bartlett she had no right to hold you to your bargain if you objected; and here is a release which I made her sign in case you should protest—as of course you had every right to do. } have a check for you, too,” she added, holding out a fountain pen sugges- tively in one hand — and two papers in the other. “If you would sign it now before she changed her mind.” “Mr. Westwood is taking his niece abroad for the winter? You are sure?’ snapped Mrs, Charteris. “ Absolutely,’ answered Sally. “Give me the pen,” ordered Mrs. Charteris, and after a swift perusal of the documents she signed them, then turned and walked quickly down the path and into the waiting taxicab. When she was safely out of sight Sally stooped and picked up the tell- tale red sign from the floor where the irate Angélique had thrown it ““T wonder if I’d better go and tell Mrs. Bartlett first and apologize for the disinfectants,” she murmured, “ or if I ought to take this right back to the house on Phelps Avenue. I can tell the policeman I came to take down our sign. It’s Sergeant Riley luckily.” She patted the red card with an ex- ultant smile. “Deo I believe in lucky signs?” she cried triumphantly. ‘“ Take it from me, my dear little scarlet-fever one, I sure do!” COMicdoo S CO@