Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 133: what you’re looking at

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

NG Mia} THE DESPERATE YOUNG MAN. ‘* How much for?” “ Five pounds.” “Oh, that ‘ll be easy enough. Thought you meant a big one, sir.” In some oblique way, Mr. Chedworth’s vanity was wounded. A five-pound note had always seemed such a stupendous thing to him, and here was a man who classified five-pound notes as small. Mr. Chedworth felt that his own importance as a cham- pagne customer was in jeopardy, and he resolved to impress the waiter. “Better change a ten-pound note for me if it’s as easy as all that,” he said, drawing out his wallet and making play with the wad of notes. “‘ Here you are,” he went on, selecting a note with some care, and then examining it with an as- sumption of casualness. ‘“‘ No, that’s a fifty- pound note,” he pointed out with secret pride in this clever display of his wealth. ‘What about this? No, that’s another fifty. And this lot is the fiver. Ah, here’s the ten- ners. Change me one of them, will you?” The waiter went off respectfully enough on his mission. Mr. Chedworth, looking across the table as he put away his wallet, found the young man’s gaze fixed brooding- ly upon him. “There’s two hundred pounds in there,” Mr. Chedworth could not help telling him, and nodded as though to say: “‘ Now snub me if you can!” A thought recurred to Mr. Chedworth. What about tipping the waiter? He was in a quandary. He did not want to be mean;- on the other hand, he did not want to be a fool and overdo it. He resolved to risk another rebuff from the young man op- posite. ‘““ By the way, wonder if you’d mind tell- ing me?” he said, leaning forward confiden- tially. “ This waiter chap—what ought I to give him? I—TI never been here before, you see. Never been to any place like this before,” he admitted frankly. ‘“ Want to do the right thing.” The young man seemed to be waking up. He sat back and examined Mr. Chedworth shrewdly. “ Having a little holiday, eh?” he sug- gested. “Tn a way. I—lI’ve done with work.” 9A ~ 289 ‘ Retired?” questioned the young man, and seemed puzzled to reconcile Mr. Ched- worth’s faded coat and frayed necktie with this theory. : “That’s about it. I—I got enough to keep me going for a bit, anyway,” returned Mr. Chedworth. He forgot that only he himself could appreciate the humor of this remark, and he winked genially at the young man to emphasize his drollery. ‘‘ Saved it up, or—or speculation?” asked the young man. “‘ Neither,” declared Mr. Chedworth, with wine-warmed joviality. ‘“‘ Yesterday I was a bit of a confidential clerk, and to- day I’m—I’m a man of means.” “How did you manage it?” queried the other, with eager, swelling interest. But Mr. Chedworth suddenly decided that he had confided quite sufficient amid strange surroundings to a young man who was quite unknown to him. Didn’t de to tell everybody your private affairs! He therefore shook his head reticently, and determined to change the subject of conversation. “ Nice, lively district, this, I dare say,” he remarked. ‘‘ Wouldn’t mind living round here myself. That’s to say, when I— when I hadn’t got to be somewhere else. Do you live anywhere round these parts?” ““T? Yes, only a few streets away.” ‘No wonder you drop in here for your meals.” “ Oh, to-day—well, I had to meet some one. Business, you know. Where do you live?” “Oh, a long way out,” answered Mr. Chedworth evasively. ‘‘ But what I’d like to do is to find a room somewhere handy round here—not too showy, of course. There’s particular reasons about that. What I shall be looking for is a nice, quiet place, where—where I can be private. Where—where certain folks would never think of looking for me. That’s the sort of place I’m after.” The young man sat looking at him with a strange intentness. Mr. Chedworth— pleased to think how diplomatically he had stated his requirements—awaited a reply. “Come along round to my place,” in- Comichooks.;com