Adventure, January 20, 1922 — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

Men of the Night But now they realized that Frank’s in- nocence had been imposed upon by an un- scrupulous creature. It was easy for an adventuress, a clever, unscrupulous crea- ture like that to impose on a dear unsus- pecting man like Frank, but his alert and watchful sisters had seen through her. And now about her history—the story she told of herself didn’t fit together at all. Just listen Frank was big, massive, slow of move- ment and speech. He showed some symp- toms of irritation, but they were blind. Helena, puffed out above and below her waist-line, perspired and blurted. Jessica, more fortunate of form, edged her words with bitterness and imitated the poise of her mother-in-law. With vague gestures and half-finished words he tried to silence them. But their indignation arose and fell on him as wrath. They threw caution away. Think of the family name, they said. He grunted unhappily, and stared from one to the other. They repeated her story, showed him the flaws in it, telling what she said, what they said, demanding now that he say something. He got up heavily, and stood awkward and dull, towering above them. In a blind sort.of way he pushed his hands out as if to sweep them aside. “T know—it’s all right. Go look at your—unh—your husbands—er—before you talk. My wife is all right. She is my wife. Ur-n. That story—I know—er—it’s all right. It’s a lie about her family and all. I know—I—un—I made it up for her— eh-er. It’s all right. I knew how’d you’d ask questions—always do. I told her what to say—ur—un—I know I’m a poor liar. Ur— I 7 He shouldered his way past them. The Loudens particularly went around in a daze of self-pity. The De Brooms were hopeful. De Broom smiled like a corpse. “Teave it to me,” he said in the midst of his coughing. “She hasn’t a chance to keep him.”’ = An inkling of the state of things got out and was whispered in the columns of a weekly that dealt in scandal. The weekly intimated that a Certain Family had put detectives to work on the biography of a Certain Bride that a Certain Wealthy Ou Bachelor had picked up in a restaurant where somebody had carelessly left her. A-hem! 93 Said Mame: “That tribe’s layin’ to frame her. T’ink they’re goin’ stan’ aroun’ suckin’ deir thum’s an’ let a frail name ’Liza cop off deir milluns? Not ’f arsenic an’ dyna- mite’ll put a crimp in her. I’m tellin’ youse. I know that bunch. Frank’s all. right. He’s the goods. But the rest o’ them animals—dey are bums!” “So,” concluded Billy the Dude as he tossed a cigaret butt toward the fireplace, “v’see I’m wise to de inner works o’ dis social game. An’ it’s rotten, Jerry. Huh?” Jerry, having sheltered his eyes with his fingers to avoid the light, lay back in an attitude of reposeful listening. He an- swered with a snore. : “Dat’s de way wit’ some people,” said Billy the Dude musingly as he also.settled down comfortably, throwing a polished foot across the arm of the chair. “TI tries to learn him somet’in’ an’ he puts out de light on me.” He grinned with a new idea. “Jus’ watch dat bird,” he remarked aloud as if to a bystander. Then with the excite- ment of seeming fear in his voice, he called out whisperingly— “Hey, Jerry—Jerry—quick!”’ _ The nerves of the lawless are jumpy. Jerry came out of his doze startled, and sat up ready to believe any alarming thing. “Shh-hh,” said Billy the Dude, mys- terious, a finger to lips and ears cocked. Jerry Peete had a flat sort of face, with owlish features; he was middle-aged, wore his hair bristling up in a way that made it appear permanently on end from some ghostly scare. Now he stared apprehensive- ly over his shoulder, and, reaching out to- ward Billy, answered: “Yes.- T:hear. =~ Shh—_¥ Who-‘can it be?” : The answer was so convincing that Billy the Dude felt a hot, nervous flush, for he too lived up on his toes, ever alert for alarms and dangers. “Lord,” said Billy, wondering if there was something or if he had succeeded in scaring himself. Jerry rose stealthily from the chair and stood still. Billy did not know whether to laugh and say it was a joke or to wait and find out if it were a joke.. He waited. Then he heard, or thought that he did, a faint sound; and Jerry touched his arm and pointed toward the wolfhound. The dog was braced, with muzzle lowered. The 9 COmiclboooks (C@