Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 87: what you’re looking at

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

‘Billings was still breathing. the cabin door. - THE N EXT VICT IM. dashed from the saloon i in fuli chase of Mi-— ah Thrumm. = - Alice kept. venuarkable sonal of herself. Her face was the color of ash and was — drawn looking. She was on her knees in an instant and had pillowed her father’s head in her lap. She slipped her hand be-_ neath his jacket, then drew it back with its fingers tipped with blood. For a moment — T feared she was going to faint, but she closed. her eyes tightly and, ‘with a depeaie effort, held on to herself, I stood by like a fool. I had draw my revolver and was holding it in readiness. - Her voice reacted like ice upon my nerves and in an instant I was kneeling, too. To-- gether we managed to remove Billings’ == — Alice. Then I went out on deck to find out jacket. The shirt, below his left armpit, was stained with bl ood. I then noticed that With deliber- - ate fingers, while her face grew unbeliev-- ably pale, Alice delicately 1 took hold of the shirt and pulled a long rip in it. Then she examined the wound. “TI could see. that it was a superficial one. “Tt isn’t serious,” she said. “ The eae just glanced beneath the skin. T here’s noth- ing to worry about—worry—perhaps in- - fection—” The strain was too much, She fainted. I managed to bring her to with water. Billings also had partially revived. I won- dered at the absence of the steward. He - had gone for coffee. He must have joined in the search for Micah Thrumm. I asked — Alice whether she felt strong enough to help me get her father to his cabin, She said - that she could, Billings’ 5 eyes were open and he was mumbling dazedly to himself. But he must have known what we were about, for he assisted us in a clumsy fashion — and the three of us stumbled down the pas-_ sage and into my cabin, where he fell back | _ heavily upon the bed. “7 will go up to the captain’ S quate. and get dressing,” ”” said Alice. ss “You'll say until I come back?” She took : my reply for ae aad left the cabin. I sat beside Billings, dividing my ‘attention between. his. pallid face and — Se in aay hand was the revolver. - whoever knocks? was” involved. But it was futile. _-tile as our ‘previous searches. had been. Mi- -cah Thrumm had vanished as completely She saw so, = _ raged. = — board for each of the officers. = ‘Sorry, = ' Billings muttered. _ give way like Ais Then he closed his eyes again. _Alice- returned shortly and I helped her ‘to dress the wound. When it was done a_ good deal of color had returned to her cheeks and I could see that her nerves were well in hand. “Tf I leave you now to join in the search,” I said, “ will you lock the door and only open it. if you recognize the voice of ‘There is a gun in your father’s pocket and I believe that you will = be quite safe in here.” “We must get off this coat,” Alice said. Alice readily consented. | We found Bil- lings's ¢ gun in the side pocket of the jacket we had taken off. I examined it to see that. it was properly loaded and then gave it to what progress had been. made in the chase after the assassin. — _-It was a scene of confusion—of Sees of men rushing singly and in groups along the deck. Every one, except those on duty, As -fu- as if he had plunged in some cabalistic fash- ion straight into the blackness of the night. - Captain Wickstrom was outspokenly en- “Tt iss worse than the deffil, ” he said. « I do not like chases. No. ‘discipline of the crew. It should get them into bad habits. nobody to chase. We shall chase no more. _ It iss finished, I shall post guards for the “night until assistance comes. Then we will _ wait for this mad flea to make exposure of himself” to. us. Yess!” And so-it was arranged. Besides those — in the possession of Billings, my nephew, and myself, there were heavy automatics on ‘There were also some assorted rifles and guns in a locked case in the library. These were load- _ ed and apportioned among the cooler heads of the crew. ‘The rest were furnished with fire AXeS, slice bars and belaying pins. If was an impressive array and the Mar- riat after the posting of the men resembled — an armed camp. Every passage, alley, deck “Sorry to They are not orderly and are not goot for the And above all chasings I hate ones in which there should be. found (Ee) or Ecomicbooks