Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 41: what you’re looking at

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out of the window again. Alice was com- ing along in her usual demure and innocent- ing manner. cece Demure! He laughed harsh- ly and cynically. That was a woman for you. An angel on the surface, with her soul-stirring and tear-provoking appeals to the men to write to their mothers, while, under the surface, her real purpose was to get in touch with a criminal so she could as- sist him to escape the penalty of his crime. Harper slammed the reward notice down on his desk. A pretty fool he had made of himself. That was the woman he had fallen idiotically in love with; whom he had asked to marry him! And the only use she had for him was to learn if he was looking for Rodney Allan, so she could warn the latter to keep away from Geyser! Her knock sounded on his door. He turned the Allan notice over on his desk and placed a paperweight on it. “Come in,” he said, and she entered. She was not so demure now as she had been, in fact she was furiously angry. “That beast, Sherrard!” she cried. “ What do you think he did?” ‘“T’ve no idea. What?” Harper’s tone was cold; but he concealed his feelings. ‘“ Made me an offer to give up my busi- ness and become a singer and dancer in his resort. Five hundred dollars cash he of- fered if I’d close up my shop, and a hun- dred a week salary if I’d work for him. The brute! ” Harper reflected bitterly that only a few moments before he would have been taken in by such talk as that, would have be- come as indignant as she apparently was. But things were different now. “ Well?” he queried. “ What was wrong with his offer? Sounds generous to me.” Alice took a Step backward and stared at him. “Why, Mr. Harper!” There was a catch in her voice that was almost a sob. It had no effect on the sheriff. 4 You can sing and dance, can’t you?” he queried. “ And act too, maybe?” She sat down heavily in the chair beside his desk and continued to stare at him. was not $0 good to look upon. He glanced — some new notice: ‘“ That—that’s why I Her right hand was on his six inches of where the Allan circ back upward, under the paperweight nervous fingers fidgeted closer and Cle to it. , ‘T just pinned up a new notice,” Har told her. ‘‘ Down there on the end—see: She rose and looked at it. “That man doesn’t look like a bad man,” she remarked as she returned to his desk. “ Lots Stated. ‘Do you think that all these wanted men are criminals?” she asked. “Why else would they be wanted?” “You are very cynical to-day.” Again Alice was seated at his desk, her fingers only a few inches from the overturned Al- lan notice. Harper wondered what would happen if he showed it to her. “ Can’t you imagine that an innocent man might be wanted?” she queried. ‘Innocent men don’t run away,” Harper replied. Alice sprang up. “They do!” she cried. “If they can’t establish their innocence, the only sensible thing to do is to run away. Oh, you are hard, hard, Jim Harper! You have no heart; you don’t understand: you take it for granted that every man is guilty until he is proved innocent!” . Harper was on his feet too. He gave Alice another keen, penetrating look. No, she was not acting now. A new thought came to him. What if she believed that the man she sought —- Rodney Allan, of Course—was innocent of the crime he was wanted for? His tone was not quite so cold as he replied: “I am a sheriff, Alice. My job is to catch wanted men: not judge if they are guilty or innocent.” She regained the casual usually marked her visits. “ Of course,” she said. Harper.” “Good day,” teplied the sheriff. He watched her as she walked back alon; comicboo of criminals don’t,” Harper demeanor that “ Good day, Mr.