Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 122: what you’re looking at

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

Wiha hte > id ~ not appreciate that it was the exuberance = ai Americans rejoicing in unaccustomed lib- ~ erty. -He was too young to remember the pre- Volstead days in the restaurants and cafés of big cities. He assumed they had been like the scenes in the smoke room of the liner. In which, of course, he was in error. At dinner that night Howard and Rod completed their plot. When the smoke room closed Howard was to invite Higginson down for an extra bottle of wine, and avoid other guests. Once in their state- room they would overpower him and search him thoroughly. It was a crack-brained scheme, even with the tacit agreement of the captain of the steamer, but they were young and desperate enough to take chances. — Rod was following a hunch. knew that Higginson had planted the loot in his room and counted on its being dis- covered and the boys placed under arrest. Among the four hundred passengers they had no other men acquaintances, so the selection of their cabin as a hiding place must have been the work of their gambling acquaintance of the Twentieth Century Limited. As nothing had been said about the discovery of the earrings by the ship’s : officers, Higginson would naturally suppose that they were still hidden in Howard Campbell’s trunk. Howard was considerably ashamed of himself for his outburst against Rod, and tried to fix things during dinner, but he had no effect on his friend. Rod understood that the remarks were made from pique, but he had-a feeling that they were per- fectly true. After dinner Mrs. Thomas led Gertrude into the ladies’ parlor and began her eve- ning bridge game with three matrons whom she had already encountered at cards on the ship. For a while Gertrude read a library | book close by. - ‘The strains of the orchestra drew the young girl from the room. She cast her eye about for acquaintances, but Mary Norman was busy with a young man who had been attending her since Howard had defaulted. Mrs. and Miss Dupoy were playing cards = 5 . in ie social hall, and Gertrude wandered ° ae He simply | - + 3 = oe . ates "Shera PMS i <p 2 ans 7 a. hooks ste r ae STARR a eee “ke ines a eee os Me ee a a ven gan ee SN a Oe ere a ees Wee phe pre ej eo BS aN OS SA aN ne I ape Es ee es c Sl hI, SP ee J a a ty - rs a = a - > PON OB a as neg en PI og, Tame ge ee ee 5% ee ML fe eet ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. out upon the deck. It was an ideal sum- — mer night at sea. The moon was shedding a golden radiance and the black waters were gilded where its rays fell upon them, A few clouds obscured it now and then, making the contrast still more glorious when it emerged. Young men and women were moving up and down the decks in light dresses and white shirt fronts. Groups hung outside the . entrance to the first cabin hallway where the orchestra was stationed, listening to the music. The band was playing selections from “ Pinafore,” that exquisite, melodic story of a fantastic battleship. The air was warm and like velvet, perfumed with the soft scent of the sea. for romance and beauty. It was no night for a girl to be alone. Many men gazed wistfully at the beautiful young thing, but her reputation for aus- tereness protected her from companionship. And so she finally came upon Rod, who was leaning disconsolately over the rail, gazing down at the troubled waters along the side of the ship, with its flashes of phos- phorescence, She boldly approached and stood beside him. He did not observe her presence, “ Are you looking for the Statue of Lib- erty?” she queried with a smile. He gave a violent start. He had been thinking of her, and her low pitched, gen- tle voice made him lose his composure. He managed to mumble a greeting. “What were you thinking about—the horrors of the secretarial profession?” He smiled one of his slow, boyish and very attractive smiles. ‘““I was just wondering what chance a fellow would have if he fell overboard. Would he get caught by the propeller and chewed up, or would he be eaten by a shark, or would he just swim about, get- ting weaker and weaker, and_ finally drown?” It was a night ‘What a cheerful notion! You must be downcast even to consider such things. Are you in more trouble?” ‘“‘1’m in worse trouble than I have ever been in my life.” “Oh, really!” She was quite alarmed, “Ts it that woman’s jewelry?” 3 SEO Boo! SeGOU jl Ce es (E(o) mm ee ios Say tee ae eas