Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

A CROWN has been——-no father or mother, a crowd of courtiers and sycophants. Spoiled, utterly spoiled by people whose lives are made and unmade by his smile or his frown. His father a first class villain, who left the boy a pauper. A nice position—a pauper on a throne!” And again she gave her wicked, chuckling laugh. As I left, she stood on tiptoes and pecked at my cheek. I have not forgotten her lips to this day, so dry and old, like a bird’s beak. “T see signs,” she said, ‘“‘ that my match- making will be a success!”’ What signs she saw I did not know. King Peter had treated her in a humorous chaffing way that she obviously liked. To me he behaved just as usual. Surely the old lady must have noticed the constraint between us. On the way back I thought about her words concerning King Peter. It must be very galling to have to marry a woman for her money. I tried to put myself in his place. No wonder our relations were so strained. The grinding of the brakes nearly jolted me out of my seat. With horror I saw that we had run over a child—a little boy, lying on the ground just by one of the front mud guards. A woman with a baby in her arms was standing by, shrieking. Quick as thought King Peter was out of the car. I scrambled after him. He picked up the boy, and dropping on one knee, propped him up. The mother continued to shriek. She was in such a state that I took the baby from her, afraid she would drop it. The boy had not really been hurt, only dazed by the shock. The wheel had not touched him. He crumpled up his brown face and began to how]. The mother clasped him in her arms, and they howled together. The baby that I held began to cry, too, adding its shrill pipe to the concert. I had always loved babies, and it was a sweet brown mite, with such huge black eyes. I soothed it as best I could.- I had quite forgotten King Peter in the excitement when I looked across suddenly and found his eyes fixed on me with such a queer gaze, a bit comic and yet so gentle and with a 709 sort of inner sympathy. I found myself flushing, and looked hurriedly away. The hubbub subsided. The woman real- ized at Jast that her child was uninjured. The little chap stopped crying, the king having proved to him that he was quite whole by gently pummelling him all over and then lifting him up and putting him into the car, when he gripped the steering wheel and laughed with delight. The woman took the baby from me. She was now all smiles, too, and so beautiful in her relief. They were of the poor peasant class, Italians from over the frontier. She wore a shawl over her head and the boy’s feet were bare. King Peter had his back to me. I saw that he was searching in his pocket. When he turned he was as red as a turkey cock, and all the humor and sympathy had gone out of his face. He was just an angry auto- crat in a hole. ‘“T say,” he said, “‘ I wanted to give this woman something, but I haven’t a sow on me. So stupid of me.” I bent my head over my bag and pulled out a hundred franc note. I didn’t look at him as I handed it over. The woman was overjoyed and showered blessings on us as we departed. The flush was still on the king’s face. His brows were drawn together in a sullen line. He raced along the road at breakneck speed. I sat as far away from him as I could, feeling perfectly horrible. It occurred to me that perhaps he was sometimes short of actual money. It was a condition I couldn’t even imagine. I felt suddenly wretchedly mean. Why hadn’t I insisted on at once settling a certain sum on him, instead of merely paying that one debt and redeeming the jewels? The lawyers were squabbling over these settlements. It was sordid, and I hated myself. What did money matter? My heart went out to him in a great rush. If only he had turned to me at that moment in sympathy, I should have burst out with the truth—that I loved him to distraction and that I was Betty Fane, of the Flower Garden Club. But, as it happened, he did speak at that moment with a stiffness that froze my heart. FOR SALE. oO GOMIGDOOKsS (S@ yf ah |