Argosy, Vol. 85, No. 3 — page 92: what you’re looking at

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

4 \ Madeleine ‘Twining Sharps o88e A Small-Town Tragedy I. “Cv AY, what do you want with all these shirts, Walt?” Harry Anderson, owner of the lit- tle store on High Street, wrapped three silk shirts in a blue paper and handed them across the counter to his old school friend and pal, Walter Leeds, who worked at Canning Brothers, the seed store, farther down the street. ‘‘ Not possible you didn’t know Mildred Race is coming back to-day, is it?” Mr. Leeds tucked his package under his arm and added: ‘“ And anybody workin’ in a big store like Wells & Wells in New York will be some swell dresser, take it from me. She'll be used to fellows who'll know what to wear and when. She shook me to go to the city and now I’m aimin’ to let her know I’m not so slow if I did stay in Wedgely.”’ Anderson grinned and swung himself jauntily to a seat on the counter. ‘“‘Ah-ha, that explains the white flan- nels, the barrels of ties, the oodles of 434 assortment of “Come to think shirts, the marvelous socks!” he exclaimed. of it though, Ed Brown did say Mil was | some baby-doll.” ‘¢ Sure she is, but she won’t out-doll me. And when she compares her home-town sweetheart with those city guys that trot her to cabarets every night, I don’t intend to retire behind the tall grass on the farm! Some line of stock you carry, old top.” ‘“ Yep—all the latest. It’s payin’ pretty well, too. Decent of Mil to spend her va- cation here with the old folks, ain’t it?” added Anderson as he followed his friend to the door. “Oh, Mil’s all right. Well—so long!” ‘So long.” II. THE express from New York paused beside Wedgely station, where several hacks were drawn up at the platform. One rather smart-looking car and a run- about driven by a girl in a middie com- pleted the scene which greeted the slim little maiden who sprang from the second COMmiclboo SS C© inn