Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

WHERE ‘SHE ‘BELON Gs. z of an aunt sak two-or three senante a tens Zz der lamb slaughtered on the altar of Sci- | as. ‘Samuel had ‘borne them to the same de- _serted shrine—and they were bubbling with spe onsible mirth and the spirit of the oc-. = -casion.. Samuel looked them over and his ence!. ‘Possibly not quite sO bad as all that, although the phrase, running over in ‘his brain, appealed to Samuel as ate the: case with ghastly snugness! _ He was glad when dinner was over. He smiled quite pathetically as his little daugh- ter wound an arm about his neck. - “TI read Sammy his story and put him to bed, father,” ‘said she. “ “You needn’t bother. ee “ Well—thanks, ‘honey!’ Zz stalled ‘Samuel and hugged her eratefully. _ “You stay down here and read. ‘I know you're tired. Er—where did you put the candy, father, dear?” “Over hee. Not too much of it, Dot. - _ €No, father, dear,” beamed this. wise and dutiful child, and left ‘him to rest... One hour - Samuel devoted to his strokes ‘They were dark thoughts; some of them. _ were mocking; none of them led anywhere — at all. He, at least, owned the conscience of a parent; it might be silly, but he could not go to bed comfortably until he knew that Josephine was back. — But how he hated solitaire! “And soli tude! Damnation, how he did hate - them both! He fumed over the table, puff hard at his pipe. Solitude! the particularly malevolent gods, he might as well have been wandering alone in the middle of the Sahara as— = " Axcuse me,” said Olga, the new maid. 35 Batt people to seen you!” Olga stated — precisely. Samuel opened his eyes wondenngly. There certainly were people out there; he aja heard them talking and chattering in the — living room, in the | big hallway. He strug- gled to his feet and hurried forth, his soli- tude relieved so unexpectedly. 7 They saw him. They cheered payly. - They demanded Helen. They were, as he observed at once, neighbors all in festive 3 mood, to the number of thirty or so. They had come, as he learned presently, hotly, — asa a Tittle surprise delegation © of old a Then, grimly, Samuel jerked down en — the legs of the card table in his den, fond litt cards and settled, more grimly, to ‘solitaire. — z hus) — people, “materialized” in about twenty-five Why, by all than : stairs presently. they bore floral offerings—just by the way, heart. turned to hot, resentful stone: out of the whole collection there was not one he liked, whose society he could even tolerate without an effortl There was a certain chagrin apparent, when they understood that Helen herself was not to be of their number. Still, they -_ -had come to celebrate her triumph. and with Samuel right there to act as proxy for his to congratulate Dr. Helen Harkton. Ais = distinguished wife, they proceeded to cele- = brate in their informal, neighborly way. It is better not to. ‘dwell. upon this. party. and | the. Teactions of Samuel Gockion. ~The nervous p art of him was badly out of ad- ‘justment. to-night. —- And _ the- ‘household owned a piano, of course, and a talking machine and, given these last two ingredi- band | just as a shadow follows normal minutes, —__ _ But they went Fee just before face, -Jeaving flowers and congratulations poued them for Helen. They bubbled and giggled | — Tanghed their ‘way out of the house, ‘Samuel still lived. Not much more n 1 that, ‘to be sure, but he still lived. - He who had so ‘recently detested solitude “how gave up a prayer of thanks for solitude and staggered back to. his cards. There was a timid little step upon the > gate. He found his daughter, much more moody ‘than usual, standing in the living room doorway, in her little nightie. She smiled very sadly at Samuel. -“T couldn’t sleep,” she explained. © That’s funny, with that—that crew of _hare-brained imbeciles shrieking their lungs out, darling!” the hospitable Samael said bitterly. _ thank: a ¥ ou’d better run back to “ They’re gone now, thank—er— bed.” “Dorothy sighed. = “Tt’s so lonely with mother away,” she observed. = Comichoo 1¢ impromptu dance which followed eslie. Peeks and her doll-faced. ‘Samuel went to investi- — (ECO)