The Argosy, Vol. 90 No. 1 — page 111: what you’re looking at

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

THE OTHER TRENT. girl was alert to the possible dangers of the situation. He felt that he should warn Jack Ives of the treachery of the man, but there was the danger of offending him with too much interference, on the one hand, and on the other the grave possibil- ity of arousing him to desperate anger. He walked around and around the city blocks, unmindful of fatigue. He stopped at the armory twice within an hour to make sure that he was not wanted there, and continued his nervous rambling. In the course of the evening, as it grew later and quieter, he almost unconsciously gravitated toward the neighborhood where his friends lived, with no definite reason for doing so. He passed the house twice, with no thought of stopping there, and it was with a start of vague dismay that he sud- denly discovered Edith Ives and Bucking- ham walking just ahead of him, and recog- nized the man by the loud and _ high- pitched voice in which he habitually spoke. To follow them deliberately was dis- tasteful to him, but he walked slowly and regarded them, as he discovered that their conversation was rising to the point of heated controversy. They walked northward to the blocks where Audubon Avenue is sparsely settled, the houses being interspersed among va- cant lots and rocky fields. Trent followed slowly and uneasily, and suddenly his dismay was increased to panic as the pair turned and came toward him. He could not turn about and retrace his steps without attracting their notice, and the girl would probably recognize his uni- form, so he took advantage of the shadow in which he had halted, and darted quickly into the adjacent vacant lot to conceal himself behind a low wooden shack where builders’ tools were kept. In an instant he heard Buckingham’s voice, shrill and angry. ‘““T came all the way back to the city just. to see you,” the man complained, ‘and you’ve got to quit this foolishness. You listen to me, my dear! I’m going to marry you, an’ you’ve got to chuck that job o’ yours right now and live like a lady. Jolly pleasant thing, ain’t it, to have my fiancée working for her living!” 105 The girl remonstrated with him in a low voice. “Tl be damned if I don’t think you’re stringing me!’’ Buckingham cried harshly. “But you can’t get away with it! I’d be a silly ass, wouldn’t I, to spend all my time and money on you, and never get so much as a kiss?” . Edith stopped and drew away from the man angrily. She spoke in short, tense phrases, but Trent could not catch the words. “Oh, I know you never said right out that you’d marry me!” the man growled, “but you’ve been stringing me along. We'll quit all the polite funny business now, though—and I'll be the boss, for a change!” He lunged forward suddenly and caught her by the arm, pulling her to him. She cried out in alarm, but, heedless of pos- sible witnesses, he enveloped her in a rough embrace and fought with her to draw her face close to his. Trent sprang from behind the shack, jerked him backward by the collar, and struck him in the face. Edith uttered a low, gasping cry, and ran panic-stricken down the avenue. Buckingham turned on his assailant, as- tonished and frightened, but roaring with rage. He saw Trent’s hand drawn back for another blow, and he rushed at him, swinging his arms clumsily. Trent gave way a step, to avoid the ponderous weight of the stout man, then caught him with a straight blow on the chin and stretched him on the sidewalk. The sudden appearance of a policeman was to be expected, and Trent did not care to be arrested in uniform. He felt that the gasping, moaning man at his feet would re- member his punishment, and as soon as he made sure that he had not injured him seriously he darted away and ran as quiet- ly as possible down the street. He covered six blocks swiftly, and then he came upon Edith Ives. She was trying to hurry home, but she staggered and swayed, half fainting. At the sound of his footsteps she turned about in fresh alarm. ‘““Mr. Trent!” she gasped. comicbooks CO