Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 4, 1926 — page 103: what you’re looking at

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

By EDGAR FRANKLIN Author of ‘‘ Poker Faces,’’ ‘‘ Suitable for Framing,’’ ete. WHAT HAS OCCURRED IN PARTS I and Il OUNG Mr. and Mrs. James Cranning borrow the automobile of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Budlong, andewreck it. WheneJames goes over to Budlong’s at nearly midnight to make some explana- tion about the car, he finds Mrs. Budlong alone, terrified by a burglar scare. In succeeding complications he is hidden in a closet for hours in the Budlong home while a posse searches the place, and is shot at when he leaves the house. Eluding pursuit, he reaches his home safely, only to find his wife, Dorothy, ready to divorce him because she has found out that Mrs. Budlong was home alone when James reached there hours before. The next morning Mrs. Budlong secretly brings James her jewels to hide,,as she had to tell a burglar story to the posse; finding this out increases Dorothy’s ire. As the Crannings are facing each other furiously, in comes Fred Budlong with a look on his face that makes Dorothy shriek in terror! CHAPTER XI. THE EASY-GOING ONE, N an instant James Cranning’s eyes widened, and his ears pricked up. He had risen, with some faint idea of going forward to greet the rather noisy guest. Well, now he stood just as he was! If that cry of Dorothy’s meant. anything at all, there was no need of hurrying forward to meet Mr. Fred Budlong. They’d meet soon enough! ‘Jim here?” Irma’s husband demanded. “Yes, but—Fred!”’ “What?” Little Mrs. Cranning caught her breath with a gasp. After all, perhaps her love for James was of the kind that survives even death! ‘““ Don’t—don’t blame Jimmy too much, I'red,” she contrived. ‘ Irma—” “T understood that.” came too, too readily from Mr. Budlong. “ I’m not blam- ing him any more than I’m blaming Irma, but—” He ended in a hard laugh—in a really This story began in the Argosy-Alistory Weekly for November 20. 413 COPMICL OO ra