Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 16, 1921 — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

126 that followed ‘her efforts was so deep and awesome that she shrank from it. And at last, convinced of the futility of attempt- ing to escape, she huddled down upon the davenport and hid her face in her thands. CHAPTER XVIII. PRIMITIVE ACTION. AMLIN was pale with the fury of bafflement when, after searching the halls and still finding no trace of Miss Alden, he ran to his room, unlocked the door with the key that he had fortu- nately dropped into a pocket when entering some time before, got his hat and stepped into an elevator which rose to his floor in response to his violent ringing. The uniformed operator looked sharply at him while replying to his question as to whether a man and woman had descend- ed a few migutes before. “ Nobody’s gone down in the last hour, sir.” Then Morrell must have taken the stairs, Hamlin decided, for the second elevator was not running. When Hamlin reached the street floor he saw the other car standing idle, the door closed, the lights out. Hamlin walked to the desk. The night clerk smiled at ‘him with good-natured, if cynical, weariness when Hamlin asked him — if a man and a woman had gone out within the past few minutes. The clerk accom- plished a slow rfegative while frankly in- specting Hamlin’s face. “You would have seen them, of course?” ‘“ Undoubtedly,” with a suspicion of mockery. “ The stairg, perhaps?” pene Ham- lin. ce ‘“‘Perhaps—perhaps ~not,” clerk. ‘He turned from Hamlin to the jangle of the telephone-bell. The wearied, tolerant, good-natured expression left his face and was superseded by keen, alert interest as he held the receiver to his ear. ‘“‘ Just a minute, please!” he said crisply. “ Don’t get excited. What has happened?’’ There was a short pause, during which Hamlin heard a voice on the wire. How- smiled the ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. ever, he did not wait. He heard the clerk gasp: “Impossible!” as he dashed out the front door; he saw two bell-boys run to the desk and ‘stand there alert, attentive, as he darted to the curb where a taxi-driver was leaning against the hood of~his car. “Which way did they go?” demanded Hamlin. “Who, sir?” The driver blinked in seeming incomprehension. “Man and woman!” snapped Hamlin. “‘ Five minutes ago. Big, dark man—little woman!” The driver’s face crinkled into a grin, which vanished when he got a good look at Hamlin’s eyes. ‘““T’ve seen no one come out within the last half-hour, sir,” ‘he answered. Hamlin turned without comment and walked toward Fifth Avenue. After taking a few steps he broke into a run, which brought him quickly to the corner. Of course the taxi-driver had been asleep, or otherwise unalert, or he must have seen Morrell and Miss Alden. And of course since they had not taken the elevator down, they must have descended the stairs. In that event—if they had not taken a taxi within a short distange of the hotel—they could not have gone very far. For Miss Alden would have to be catried. There were a few pedestrians on Fifth Avenue in the vicinity of the corner where Hamlin halted, but there was no sign of Morrell. After a swift glance up and down the famous thoroughfare Hamlin turned back. He crossed the street, ran rapidly down it and emerged upon Broadway. And there, instantly, he sensed the futility- of further search. He paused for an instant at the corner, debating an impulse to return to the hotel and question Sayle, but decided that a talk ‘with the latter would probably end in his punching the other’s head. And that would mean trouble with the police—which he wanted to avoid. For the first time in this life he had some conception of what a baffling and mon- strous task it was to find one person among several millions. He felt like an atom in a world of space—an atom endowed with perceptions of direction, but still unable COMIGHOO <S) C@