Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 94: what you’re looking at

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vee! 720 the lion’s mouth. They gave a whole week to their preparations. The escape of Roger Manion had ceased to be news, but it had been taken as a personal affront by the prison authorities, and the three had reason to believe that the search for them was still being pur- sued on the quiet, The authorities had been chiefly aroused against Hal, the “ recreant doctor” as the newspapers had called him. Apparently they had never come upon any real clew to their whereabouts, but it was possible they might have information which had never been divulged. Hal and Roger had studied every line in the newspapers, but Celesta had soon ceased to read them, because they only angered and distressed her. Photographs of Roger had been widely published, and many details of his career related. No photograph of Hal nor of Celesta had been procurable by the newspapers. Hal and Celesta still studied to improve their disguises. Hal’s Italo-American patois would now deceive almost anybody but an Italian. Celesta darkened her skin more; learned a more characteristic way of doing her hair. Wonders of disguise may be ac- complished with a woman’s hair. Hal pro- cured a pair of curiously wrought gold pen- dants for her ears that changed the whole look of her. She became expert with the tambourine. There was Roger to be thought of, too. Since he had proved to be incapable of maintaining an Italian character except among those who did not know Italian, a new disguise had to be found. It was finally detided he must play the part of a surly old codger who had given up all care of his personal appearance. This was a bitter pill for him to swallow, but he had to acknowl- edge the ingenuity of the idea. His hair had grown somewhat untidy dur- ing the last few weeks. They now forced him to cultivate a disfiguring grayish, sandy stubble on his chin and upper lip. For several days before they started they would not allow him to brush his hair. Hal brought home garments from a hand-me- down shop that caused him to shudder, but he put them on. Finally Hal grimed his face and hands in realistic fashion. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, “Who would ever recognize Gentleman Roger now?” Hal asked wickedly. Roger groaned at the sight of himself in the mirror. Finally they set off one morning on the earliest train. Roger rode in one car, Celes- ta and Hal in another. The street piano traveled in the baggage car. According to their arrangements, Hal and Celesta were to get off at the first mill town and piay their way in, while Roger was to ride into the ter- minal, and spend the day looking for rooms and furnishing them. They dared not risk a lodging house, however humble. Hal and Celesta alighted at the town of McCrea’s Mills. The battered piano was lowered from the baggage car, and they im- mediately set to work. They could have done well in the squalid mill towns; the poor people weicomed Celesta’s bright cos- tume and the jingling tunes, but they were in a hurry; they had twelve miles to cover. They stopped only often enough to keep up their character. They followed the same main street that they had traveled in their automobile that wild night a month before. The afternoon was drawing to a close as they approached the center of Clayton. Here they met their first misadventure. They were to meet Roger at five thirty on a certain corner, and having still a few min- utes to spare they had slowed down, playing oftener. They were in a street of busy shops of the humbler sort, and business was good. A small group loitered on the side- walk smiling in half friendly, half sheep- ish fashion. Hal turned the handle vigor- ously, while Celesta twirled her tambourine. A policeman came sauntering along, He was a corpulent policeman, but of the type that fat renders irascible instead of easy- going. His little swimming eyes glittered with malice. He walked all around the piano before he spoke. “‘Where’s your license?” barked the officer. The music stopped, and the expressions of the listeners changed. Celesta received a painful lesson in the vagaries of human nature. Those who had been regarding them in so friendly a fashion immediately took the part of the policeman. Apparently: it was more fun to see the guineas pinched DA \ COMmMicoooks (C@