Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 103: what you’re looking at

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

The War Bride an entry in a little note-book which he thereafter slipped into his pocket. Mr. Buckmuller carefully examined them both, noting their attire and their de- meanor. The raiment was well-cut and of good material, the air unquestionably one of prosperity. ‘Five mill-ee-own!”’? murmured Mr. Buck- muller under his breath. ‘Some consider- able little spec’, yes, yes!” He raised his newspaper and turned quickly from the sporting page to the finan- cial page. His glance ran down a column of letters and figures until it rested on this line: “Cons. Cop. 21, 214%, 21.” This indicated that in the Stock Ex- change that day the price of the stock of the Consolidated Copper Companies had been $21 a share at the opening of business, that it had risen as high as $21.50 during the day, and had fallen back to the opening price. Mr. Buckmuller pursed his lips. If you do not know the gentleman it may be well to introduce him: He is a short, plump, shrewd-faced young native of the City of New York, employed as advertising man- ager by the well-known firm of Armitage, Barnes & Curley, vendors of breakfast cereals. His accidental meeting with Har- old Armitage, son of the senior member of that firm, had resulted in his employment. Shortly thereafter Mr. Buckmuller mar- ried Celia, the stenographer, whose oval face and placid blue eyes had won his heart. They were very comfortably domiciled in an uptown apartment, whither Jake was bound on this fateful sixteenth of Decem- ber. All the way uptown he revolved in his mind that mystical sentence: “Five million in ‘C.C.’ Five million in ‘C.C.’ Five million in ‘C.C.’ ” The sentence circled ’round and ’round in his brain. It was still in rhythmical gyra- tion as he entered his home, divested him- self of hat and overcoat, and sank into his favorite chair. Celia gazed at him from the clear depths of her serene blue eyes, but said nothing. She was a wise little Celia, who had learned to wait for the inevitable revelation. It did not come until the maid was removing the remnants of dinner. Then Jake leaned back with the satisfied sigh of a well-filled man afid gazed across the table at the Attic countenance of his wife. IO] “‘Celia,’’ he said, as with the tines of his fork he traced an invisible 5,000,000 on the table-cloth, “I’ve been thinking of the steam-yacht. Shall we fix her up for next season with an onyx smoke-stack and a pale pink satin bowsprit?”’ “‘Nut,”’ answered Celia sweetly. “T repeat, Madame,” said Jake, ‘‘that my mind is contemplating some changes in the layout of our Newport Villa. Would it be well to have the forward deck terraced down to the waterfront, the levels being seeded with orchids, bulbuls and orioles, and a crystal peristyle projected diametric- ally, so to speak, upon the main fagade?”’ ‘‘Meaning Ss Celia arched her brows interrogatively. ‘“‘Meaning,” said Jake, “that by the merest accident I’ve gotten one rich rosy pipe of a tip on a very good buy on the ‘street’.”’ ““Now, look here, Jake!’ said Celia. ‘You just pickle that rich red rosy pipe of a tip in a nice little hermetically sealed can. The last one you had depressed our savings-bank account by five hundred perfectly good dol- lars. The idea, when everybody says busi- ness is bad, to go plunging our money into Wall Street!” “Hush-a-by-baby. How you talk!” pro- tested Jake. “It’s just that yellow-streak stuff that keeps business in what the prexy down there at Washington calls a psycho- logical depression. Be a little sport, Celia! There’s poor Mr. Wilson trying to find out what put the sigh in psychology. Have a little patriotism! Give him a chancel’ “Nothing doing,’ answered Celia with a determined shake of her little golden-brown head. ‘‘Four per cent. and a sound night’s sleep look good to me.’ Jake pursed his ie and sighed. He realized that his frontal attack on the savings bank had been a failure, and he | retired in good order. ‘“‘Never mind, kid,” he said. ‘“‘You keep your bundle, if you feel that way, but watch me. I'll kick in with my: little checking account. The only ‘diff’ will be a steam- yacht without a villa, instead of a steam- yacht with a villa.” Jake stood up and walked slowly out of the room. When he returned, his hat was in his left hand and he was buttoning his over- coat with the other hand. “‘Going somewhere?” Celia asked. “Club, kid,” Jake answered. ‘“There are COMmicloOokks.corn