Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 19, 1924 — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

THE CONFIDENCE MAN, which was the radiance of youth. To Cor- van’s poor overwrought mind it seemed like the face of a boy Christ; and the bright eyes met his with the intelligence of a new found soul. There flitted across Corvan’s vision a pic- ture of that face as he had seen it once be- fore; as he had seen it, a grotesque and hideous thing in the arms of Margaret Fiske. And now a soul had entered into it; a light was in its eyes—a light that regarded him with recognition. “Tt is you!” cried the boy, and he stepped forward with a glad, eager gesture that knew nothing of tempering conven- tion. | Corvan laid his hands on the boy’s slim shoulders, and he felt as he did so that he was not worthy. “T received the wire this afternoon,” Margaret was saying. “ I’ve been looking all over for you.” ‘I’m glad, old man! I’m glad!” Cor- van’s eyes were glued to the adoring gaze of the youngster. He wrung the boy’s hand and pounded him again and again upon the shoulder. ‘I’m glad!” It was all he could say. In his heart was an unfathomable despair that this thing, too, must be put forever behind him—that this thing, too, could be contaminated by his touch. ‘But I suppose you heard!” cried Mar- garet. 7 “No. No,” said Corvan. Then, sud- denly, ‘‘ Where are you going now?” “To take him home, of course. Mr. Humphrey is in there.” She motioned toward the waiting room. The train was pulling out, and the up-train panted down the track, waiting its turn at the station. “Of course.” He looked from one to the other of them; to the nurse who hovered as it were, in the offing. ‘‘ Of course, he will be waiting. You must go to him.” Margaret and the boy turned toward the waiting room. Corvan saw that they ex- pected him to accompany them. 3 “No,” he smiled wanly. ‘“ You take him in to old Humphrey. Then come out. _ There is something I must say to you. You must be quick.” He was conscious of the waiting train. ‘“ Quick,” he said. The three of them went through the door- 605 way and left him alone to remember that understanding look which had flashed from her clear, brave eyes. “I must!” he cried to himself. must! I must!” The door opened once more, and she came out to him. “What is it, dear?”’ she asked. He took her by the arm and led her away from the light which glittered through the window of the waiting room. Free from the sheltering overhang of the station roof, the star filled sky shone like a richly jew- elled mantle above them. The fair night caressed them. The shouts of the railroad men came to them muffled by the scented air. In the thick hedgerow beyond the track, a thousand night things throbbed with song. “ft must hurry,” Corvan murmured to her. “I must hurry—I am going away to-night. I am going to leave you—Oh, my darling, this is good-by!” She wrenched her arm free in a quick movement, a protest. ‘““No!” she cried. stand—” “ Don’t,” he murmured hurriedly. “ Don’t —Hush. You must not say a word. I have no time. I must tell you—” He gazed at her closely, devouring her with his eyes. “Ah, how can I say it!” An impulse that was not altogether selfishness urged him to shield her from the bitterness of revelation— But he commanded himself. It must be said. Searching her face, with his own eyes sounding the depths of the emotion which her firm glance held, he heard himseif saying it. “‘ Margaret, I have come to you like a prince in a fairy tale. I have come with money and the power of money; and with you to guide me, I have used that power for good. I have relieved the sick, and helped the poor. But it was not enough, Margaret, to prevail over what I had been before. It was not enough to force away the hand that brought me down here, or to destroy forever the path I had followed before it brought me to you. That hand was evil, and the path was crooked—. “Listen, Margaret,” he hurried on, silen- aa 3 “T don’t wndcer- oO Gomichbooks (EC)