Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

of yourself! 692 “Thought I’d better not write, but take a run across and see for myself just how much of a damned fool you’ve been making After all, George, I’ve got a lot of ‘interest to keep me in New York, but I’ve only got one boy, if he zs a simple- ton!” Fine old dad! Foursquare to the world, taking no back talk from any man, loyal to the core, asking no odds, dropping every- thing to cross the Atlantic just because he feared his son was in mischief and need- ed help! Thus incoherently ran George’s thoughts as he dragged a chair up for his father, and indicated the wine closet and the cigars. After a little, the old man discovered a bottle of special Scotch, and Ugichi pro- duced a cold siphon. “‘ George, somehow I never can take any comfort drinking any more back home,” his father confessed. ‘‘ Seems disloyal, some- how. My country—right or wrong—has gone theoretically dry. I try to stand it. But, oh, boy! It’s good to have one or two —no more at a time—when there isn’t any sneaking down back alleys or fishing hip pockets for it. And, by the way,” he con- cluded, “in a brief time you seem to have become rather a connoisseur? I note a number of brands here that I used to know something about.” George hastened to explain the curious situation whereby he had fallen heir to a lot of good liquor and cigars, as well as a cozy home. His father sipped his Scotch, and puffed at a fat Havana, encouraging him here and there with a pointed question, until he had the whole story of his son’s hectic life in the brief weeks since his ar- rival in Paris. Nothing escaped the elder’s keen atten- tion. He made note of the frequency with which the name of Mme. Volontiers—that is, of Delphine Grandchamps appeared. “Why an alias?” he asked pointedly. ‘“ Because of the shame of her brother’s disgrace,” George explained. ‘“ You'll meet her pretty soon. She’s coming in to tea.” His father grunted noncommittally, and George proceeded with an account of the glorious fight in the Marais. That is, the - second one; the: first ended too. soon and... ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. too disastrously. Ugichi was called in and made to demonstrate some of his disabling tactics, and George, on his part, modestly confessed that he had dealt out some little sleep producers himself. When Ugichi had gone out for supplies for dinner, since George looked far too bunged up to appear in a public café or hotel, his father, having heard the last detail of the great fight, spoke his mind. ‘Looks like you'll have to do something to rehabilitate the name of Strong here, George, after what the count did to it with his parties. Besides, I guess you like the town pretty well, or would if you had a little spending money. But if I leave you here, Ugichi has got to be induced to stick along as a sort of bodyguard. I'll feel safer about you.” He went on to suggest that George open up a sort of Paris branch of his father’s en- terprises, to handle his Continental affairs. “‘ Of course, I’ll have to ship you a secre- tary. Some one who knows business meth- ods, especially my methods. Some one you'll like. It won’t do.any harm to have a Strong here in person; and you must be willing to be a sort of pupil of the man I’ll send you. You'll be the heir apparent, so to speak, but he will be the regent for a while.” “Didn't know you had any European affairs, sir?” Strong, Sr., rolled his cigar from one cor- ner of his mouth to the other. “* Haven’t much of anything,” he con- fessed. ‘“ But Ill get us a mess of them before I go home. I just bought a date farm down in Africa; just a little piece, about seven thousand acres. A gamble. May not pan out. You can take a run down there later on. Then, I have a couple of palaces I got at a bargain in Vienna, which I’m going to make over into hotels or apartment houses or something. And I’ve got more stock than I wish I had in a Marseilles olive oil concern. That, too, you must look over by and by.” Twilight came, and with it Delphine. To George, anxiously scanning his father’s ‘‘ poker face,” as he called it, it was hard to tell his opinion of the little lady. But. meee it became apparent that her ‘om Wee JOOKS=C i) Ye ee se EEE ect SE — ey eo gel In gg RS . en gs Re a Oe oS Fe = a Po =|