Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 16, 1921 — page 75: what you’re looking at

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

66 them, then laid down again. At once the pain in his eyes ceased. He became aware, after what seemed a long time, of a pres- - ence in the room. ‘He shut his eyes and waited. Two fingers were laid, one on each of his eyes. The pain stopped. He feared to open his eyes, but the cooling pressure continued, and he turned his head, thus moving his eyes from under the finger-tips. He opened his eyes—saw ’Leesah standing beside the divan, smiling at him. ‘You poor, poor tired lad,” she said; “ I have come with some lotion that I got of an old Arab woman who does my washing. I went to her at 6nce after seeing your eyes this morning. The native women have so many healing simples that I thought it would do no harm. Come, it is late, time for us to rehearse. You have slept away the morning and it is the cool of the after- noon. Come, you lazy fellow.” She tweaked his ear with her cool fingers. He found himself smiling at her. She went and sat on the window ledge and gazed down at the folk passing. Rarely had she ventured, in their travels, into such close companionship as now. _ La Forge ‘got up and sat on the edge of the divan. ‘““T walked past the porter at the gate and came right in. I knew you would be merely resting,” she said, with an evident effort to make small talk. He felt refreshed. He got up, flexed his muscles, washed his face and eyes, applied some of the lotidh from the little jar she had brought. He felt distinctly better, but that the thirst in the depths of his throat would not cease from troubling. She con- tinued to sit on the ledge and to gaze, ab- stracted, at the passing folk. “Tell me, "Leesah,” he said, speaking from some outer compulsion he could not resist, “‘ what you think of Troiville?’’ She flashed a quick glance at him, then turned her head away, gazing still down- ward and talking partly over one perfect shoulder that showed its roundedness under the prim-necked satin dress of mauve that she wore. “Eh? Troiville? Why discuss him?” His eyes began to burn. It seemed to him that he could see Merim, behind ’Lee- ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. sah, right alongside the wall, at the win- dow’s edge. She was smiling. “He is not worth discussing, true enough. But he disgusts me. much interested there?’’ She threw back her head and laughed— joyously. He saw the fantom of Merim vanish, like a wisp of sun-slain mist. “Interested? What fun? With him? So self-satisfied, so bourgeois!” Then she stopped as she saw the look of relief on his face. “Why, do you care if I—I amuse my- self—’”’. “No; that is understood.” ¢é Oh! ”? She turned her back and glanced out of the window again. He felt his eyes burn anew. Merim was between him and ’Lee- sah again. Are you Swinging her little foot, "Leesah tapped — the wall under her window’s ledge with her high heel. She hummed a little Arab love- song, plaintive, sweet: “The sun slays the stars, But the night makes them live Ah, love, loose the bars, Your lips, give, oh, give! The sun is our foe, Sweet night is our friend; To the wide sands we must go, Where true love hath no end.” She turned her head again. He started toward her, then drew back. Merim had all but touched him on the eyes. They burned again. He drew up stiffly. ’Lee- sah turned to him again, saying: “For one thing, Troiville is utterly im- possible, my friend. The natives here hate him.” “They are apt to hate their conquer- ors.” “ But this is different. from whom I got the eye lotion told me why. I have tried to be kind to her. She saw me go out for a donkey-ride with him the other day. She came to my room next day with my laundry. She warned me not ‘to be seen with him, that he was bad, and would meet some terrible mishap.” ‘‘ She gave some reason for her belief?” * Yes, this—” She paused. Pierre saw the form of COmiclbooks The old woman (© 5}