Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 4, 1926 — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

WAR SPAWN. He glanced at him sharply. ‘““Leave things as they are!” he said curtly, and passed on. Allerton stood watching him after giving the order to the seaman, his head thrown back, an evil look spreading over his face that marred his fine features. His big figure tensed, and his hands clenched. At that moment he could have cheerfully thrown the son and heir of the house of Fenwick into the sea. Stephen descended the broad staircase. He paused a moment in the hallway below, his eyes fixed upon the floor reflectively. “That fellow always rubs me the wrong way; with all his good looks he certainly has the evil eye. I think one of these days the Psyche will have to worry along with- out him.” The salon that Stephen entered a mo- ment later was beautifully finished, and furnished in dull mahogany. Beautiful rugs were upon the polished floor, great easy chairs and wide sofas stood invitingly about, a grand piano in one corner was. open, music upon the rack. The faithful Owonto looked after all these minor details. But Stephen needed no notes for his playing. He sat down, and dashed into a gay little French topical chanson, then an- other, breaking off in the middle to play a catchy popular air that he had heard in the cabarets at home during the winter. But the music increased his loneliness, bringing back disturbing memories. He paused after a few minutes, and sat quiet- ly, his eyes wandering to the open window that gave upon the tiny lower deck, through which the moonlight was now streaming. Suddenly’he turned back to the piano, and swung into the majestic chords of the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata. Stephen played as he had never done be- fore, pouring out all his pent-up longing for something better in life than merely wasting time. Soon the music swelled in mighty ma- jestic rhythm. The soft night air carried the harmonies out through the corridors of the swiftly moving Psyche. The men in the hold listened; the captain standing near the man at the wheel dropped his glasses, and gazed out over the moonlit waters, and then up into the superb galaxy of stars. 387 In the meantime the doctor had tapped at the door of the stateroom where the stowaway had been moved a few hours | previously. There was a slight scraping sound as a key was turned in the lock, and then Dr. Gordon was treated to one of the real surprises of his not uneventful career, as the door was slowly opened a little way. A tall figure stood in the aperture, her hand upon the doorknob, surveying him inquiringly. A splendid aureole of tawny hair surmounted a face delicately oval though colorless, save for scarlet lips slight- ly parted showing even rows of small white teeth. The eyes, steady, inquiring eyes, gazed into his. The figure, tall, slender, rounded, was attired in a pink, sitk negligee. Judith noticed his bewilderment. ain’t made no mistake,” she said. “I’m the stowaway, all right!” He stepped to- ward her, and looked at her keenly. “TI don’t wonder ye hardly know me,” she said gravely. The doctor crossed the threshold with all the nonchalance he could muster, still dazedly staring at this wonderful butterfly that had changed so suddenly from a grub. Judith, who had been all grace in the clothing to which she was accustomed, stumbled awkwardly over her trailing neg- ligee as she backed away from the door. She had found this wonderful pink silk confection, after her bath and shampoo, hanging with an indiscriminate array of other clothing in the wardrobe behind one of the mirrored. doors. Further investigation in the drawers of the gay, rose-garlanded dresser had re- vealed little piles of clean, perfumed, silk- en underwear, sans ribbons, buttons, and also somewhat worn, too worn for Ivy Fen- wick’s maid to think them worth packing for going ashore, but which to Judith were the loveliest lingerie ever. She had experienced a soft delight in the feel of the delicate silk against her flesh; she had never known before the ex- quisite pleasure of the simple contact of delicate fabrics. But she had found no shoes. So it was a bare-footed Judith that tripped over the trailing her gown. ~ “Ve - comicbook silken lengths of a $2 Mery eee OF Ft, eo ~ Oo —4 > # .