Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 148: what you’re looking at

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

=: * 618 My mistress showed no surprise at the sight of him. I learned later that she had recognized him upon his first appearance. ‘““Mme. Storey wants to have a look at you,” said Inspector Rumsey as he led him in, He never batted an eye. Not a muscle of his face changed. He met her gaze point- blank with complete effrontery. Oh, truly, a remarkable man! “Tm not going to indulge in any moral reflections, McDaniels,” said my mistress; “it’s not my line. I only feel like saying when I look at this poor girl, that I re- gard this as the best night’s work of my whole life.” He kept his mouth shut and continued to stare at her with the hardihood of a savage animal. ‘“ Have you nothing to say for ue cried the inspector saaeels McDaniels cast a look of ineffable con- tempt upon him. There was old bad feeling between these two. ‘““ Not to vou,” he said. “ Fe does right to keep his mouth shut,” - said Mme. Storey. ‘‘ What is there for him te say? Take him out.” He was led away. Two men were told off to guard the house until daylight. Then the inspector turned to us. . ‘““ Well, ladies,” said he, night?s work is finished.” ‘‘ What say, Melanie,” said my mistress, smiling, “‘ shall we beat it out of here?” ‘J ain’t got no hat,” murmured Melanie, abashed. We laughed. “ Well, it’s past four,” said Mme. Storey. “They'll think we’ve been on a party.” “Where you goin’ to take me?” mur- mured Melanie. ‘“ There’s a little flat on Gramercy Park that’s been waiting for you for weeks past. If you'll take in Bella and me until break- fast time, we'll all have a chance to tidy up.” Melanie smiled like an abashed school- boy. If I live to be ninety I will not forget the starry look that appeared in the eyes of the girl as she came out on the stoop of the house and, lifting her-face to the “YT guess the ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. sky, breathed deep of the delicious morning air; for it was growing light. It was worth all we had been through, oh, a hundred times over! CHAPTER XXVI. CONCLUSION. T half past ten next morning Mme. Storey was seated at her desk, and I at mine, and all the lurid events of the preceding days had taken on the semblance of a dream. We were reading the letters that had come in during my absence from the office. They were of no great importance, since my mistress was supposed to be in Europe. The door between the two rooms was open, and we were talking idly back and forth. Heavens! how sweet was the feeling of perfect relaxation, after having been keyed up so long; how delightful was the free exercise of one’s own personality, after having been forced to play an alien part! How I loved the calm and the coolness of our beautiful rooms! When I first came in, I had gone about like a fool, ee everything. 3 Melanie was still asleep upstairs. As soon as we had put her to bed Mme, Storey had carried me up to her own place where she had put the services of her expert maid and masseuse at my disposal. In an hour I felt like a new woman, Neither of us had any desire to sleep; it was too good just to be; and we had issued forth in search of the most luxurious breakfast in New York. My mistress looked perfectly radiant. In honor of the occasion she had put on a sports dress of some rare Eastern silk, with a gay-all-over design of little dancing men. She had dyed Jessie Seipp’s crass locks to darkest brown, the color of her own hair, while waiting for it to grow out, and had subdued the frizzled bush with a net. She looked like a lady again. A lady! She looked like a duchess! We found our breakfast at Antoine’s recherché little place on Park Avenue. Need I say how we enjoyed it? You must take a plunge into the underworld to ap- preciate to the full the delights of fine Comicbooks.co an yan Hee