Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 1, 1922 — page 111: what you’re looking at

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

HiS THIRD MASTER. ‘And now I have to run along.” “Wait,” said Mrs, Rainey, coming Straight to him. ‘‘ Mr. Greene, it looks to me as if we’d formed a partnership.” “ Boosters for Cynthia. Exactly.” ‘The next time I see you we'll talk over the details of the partnership.” Neither of them smiled. ‘Whenever you please,” said Dickon. They shook hands again, and he was gone. CHAPTER XXIX. MRS. RAINEY SMELLS DANGER. HE moment he disappeared twenty years dropped from the shoulders of Mrs. Rainey. She gathered up her skirts with one hand, seized the French balustrade in the other, and raced up the stairs. One thump upon Cynthia’s door and in she bounced. . And this was the picture that met her eyes. William Rainey sat on the side of his daughter’s bed and she was propped high upon pillows, a dressing gown drawn around her shoulders; between them lay a writing pad of broad cardboard, and they were play- ing cribbage. “Twenty-four,” said William Rainey, so intent upon his game that he did not notice their spectator. ‘‘ Twenty-four and a pair on you, Cynthia! Never play—” “ Thirty-one and three of a kind!” cried Cynthia, laying down a card triumphantly. “‘ Six and two is eight!” And she burst into happy laughter which went out suddenly as her lifted eyes struck the face of her mother. “‘ Dad!” she whispered in warning. Her father turned with an exclamation of dismay. “ William!” pronounced Mrs. Rainey. “My dear?” queried William Rainey, fiddling nervously with the cards. “ Did I tell you that Cynthia didn’t get to bed last night until three o’clock?”’ “ You did.” “ Did I tell you that she has to have her sleep if she’s to keep her looks?” ‘“ Now, Louie—”’ 901 “ Louise, please, William. I’m no longer twenty.” He glared at her for an instant and then submitted. “* How’s this?” he complained. ‘“ Have I a daughter or have I not? Do I get a chance to see her? I don’t! Some yap- doodle is always here, and be damned to ’em all! ? He gathered up the cards slowly, his rage gathering with them. “Who wanted to rush to New York, me or your” asked Mrs. Rainey. ‘“ Who bolted straight for the big city as soon as he had a penny?” William Rainey moved his lips, but could not speak. ‘““And who started this climbing stuff? Who began the talk about mounting the social ladder? It was you! You wanted to get into one of the good clubs—as if you didn’t have a place to smoke your filthy cigars at home! And when you couldn’t get in you began to curse New York and - then you said you’d show ’em. But you’ve left the showing up to me. Do you want to take charge?” “Td drop it all,” said William Rainey bitterly. ‘I say, it makes me sick to have my girl showed like a horse for a mob to bid on her.” ‘ Dad!” protested Cynthia Rainey. “Let him talk,” said Mrs. Rainey, tap- ping her foot in a staccato on the floor. “Let him talk. But I'll handle the doing of things. Give up now? Nota hope, Wil- liam Rainey. You got me into this, and now I’m going to go through with it. Where were we when I started with Cynthia? No- where! Where are we now? I’ll tell!” “Go on and tell,” said William Rainey with more courage in his voice. ‘ What has Cynthia got out of three months of work?” “Three months?” echoed his wife. “ Well, it takes time to do things. A ground work has to be laid.” Her husband muttered to himself. “And now I'll tell you where we are; if you can understand it! Cynthia!” “Yes?” said the girl, shrinking a little from that hard, shrill voice. “ What’s the best house in New York?” comicloool C©