Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 19, 1924 — page 132: what you’re looking at

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

602 closing in about him, and brings forth his last reserve. Ignoring the presence of Welsh, he made his way to the table where the auctioneer’s clerk dealt with the success- ful bidders. Margaret greeted him, and he composed himself to reassure her. “Vou came at a crucial moment,” he said, She, believing he referred to his success- ful bidding, was a little puzzled at his seri- ousness. “Are you going to open a furniture store?” she asked. Maddox came and put the same question in @ manner all his own, but before Corvan could answer them he was besieged by the Spately sisters. On the verge of tears, they congratulated him. ‘It’s hard to see the old things go,’ fal- tered Miss Honoria. ‘“‘ But we couldn’t have hoped to see them in better keeping. We are so glad it is you who got them, Mr. Corvan.”’ “1 nt said Corvan. yours.” They didn’t understand. Corvan turned to Margaret, helplessly. “Explain to them that the furniture is theirs,” he pleaded. “A little present for them,”’ Margaret. turned to the two little ladies, and Corvan watched her as she quieted their fears, silenced their embarrassment, and gave them richly of the sympathy and un- derstanding which was the soul of the girl. The room was nearly empty now. The crowd had hurried away, and there was only a little knot of dealers grouped about the table. Corvan had seen Brower and Noylan. go off arm in arm, but he knew that Weish was standing in the doorway, waiting, he presumed, to take his arm as Brower had taken Noylan’s, and murmur cryptic menaces into his ear. There was Welsh in the open doorway, and here was Margaret Fiske busily en- gaged upon a work that was characteristic of her. Corvan looked from one to the other, and a sudden revelation flooded his mind, filled him, and overwhelmed him, so that he felt for a moment blind and weak. In all the long battle he had waged, the conviction and the knowledge that he could “They are ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. never have her; that under no consideration could she ever be his; that even while he fought for his soul with her spirit to uphold him, he contaminated her; entangled her in unmentionable things; in all that long battle it had never come home to him with such terrible conviction as the presence of Welsh now brought it home to him. He saw suddenly with a new vision: and what he saw confounded him. His battle had been for self; and now for that self he must sacrifice her. It was she who must suffer when the revelation came. It was the unselfish and devoted spirit of Margaret Fiske that must be broken when Wade’s forces closed in upon him. And she would fight for him. She would face these hard, contaminated men in per- son; he would not be able to prevent that. As the field marshal upon whom the enemy is closing in must refuse to sacrifice his reserves to annihilation if he loves them, Corvan saw with this crushing clearness of new vision, that he could do battle no longer. . ‘I must run along,” he murmured thick- ly in her ear. “I must get back to the house.” And leaving her to continue her ministra- tions upon the poor, bruised hearts of the two sisters, he hurried through the door- way, passing Welsh, passing the lined cars of the dealers he had brought to do his work; hurried up the peaceful stretches of the scented country road; through vine clad hedges, and between green meadows tinted with purple in the twilight; hurried back to his home where Wade was—and the hu- miliation of surrender. Corvan found Wade upstairs in his bed- room. The door was ajar, and Corvan en- tered without knocking. Wade sat in an upholstered rocking chair and vigorously smoked a cigar. Corvan closed the door behind him and stood regarding his enemy, “It’s all over between you and me, Wade!” he said. In a peculiar manner he had never seemed to Wade more elegant, more the princely gentleman among com- moners, than Wade saw him now. His bear- ing commanded and obtained from Wade a certain respect and subordination which COPMIE OOOKS (S@)