Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 4, 1926 — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

WAR SPAWN. get drowneded with,” she said. In her voice conviction struggled with surprise at such an amazing discovery. “T guess you do!” agreed Stephen. CHAPTER XI. AN ERRAND OF MERCY. door. | ‘ Remember, in half an hour,” he warned smilingly, with upraised finger. “The feminine sex is noted for its entire disregard of time.” ‘““T ain’t goin’ to be no different. What would happen if I was late?” she coquet- ted. “ Don’t be late. I shall count the mo- ments till I see you again,” admitted Ste- phen. The undercurrent of truth in his state- ment madeé his voice vibrant. “T ain’t got any timepiece,’ dimpled Judith. ‘I used to tell time by the sun, but the sun ain’t shinin’.” ‘‘T’ll send Owonto with a clock. You can take all the time in which to make your toilet that you wish,” he conceded. ‘“‘ A half an hour’s enough,” admitted the girl, now that he had given her her way. She closed the door slowly, peeping at him coquettishly until at last it slammed to with a little bang, caught by a current of air that was blowing freshly through the stateroom. She stood for a moment as if spellbound, regarding the door fixedly. She was astonished at herself. She, Ju- dith Reading, was actually coquetting with one of her hereditary enemies. ‘“T don’t feel like the same girl,” she soliloqguized wonderingly as she fared about the stateroom. ‘ ' She flung open a door that she had not noticed the evening before. It was one in which was set a long mirror. “Oh!” she cried, clasping her hands in admiration. There, in all its embroidered glory of gold dragons, butterflies, and a clambering wistaria vine laden with flow- ers, hung the gorgeous mandarin coat. It was wadded and ned with soft satin. She 6A os saw Judith to her stateroom 401 explored further and found a white linen skirt, some white silk blouses, and a pair of white pumps that looked tiny to Judith. In great consternation she ran over to the drawer where she had found the lin- gerie, and began tumbling out the piles of neatly folded articles. At the very bottom —after she had about given up in despair— she found what she was looking for, a pair of white silk stockings. In the meantime Stephen made a hurried toilet, and had gone up on deck. He met Captain Lang, pale and wan-eyed, coming from the wheelhouse. While he, Stephen, had slept, this man had remained up through the night, fighting with forces of body and will, for the yacht. “Thanks to you,’ Stephen rendered tribute, “ we are still here.” “No, don’t thank me. The Psyche’s construction was all that your father con- tracted for,” replied Lang. ‘“ Let the ex- pense go hang!” he said. “I want a safe craft. Which is the only reason that any of us are here; for it would have been impossible to launch the lifeboats in that sea.” “It’s the governor’s way of doing things,” commented Big Fenwick’s son. The captain swept the sea with his glasses. “How about the S O S?” phen. “It’s from an English trading schooner coming from Brazil,” .answered the cap- tain. her engine was out of business, and that she had collided with some wreckage and sprung a leak. An old tub, anyhow, I know. Said her men would take to the boats before long. ‘We're cruising around now, trying to locate her. Of course we were blown many leagues apart during the storm, but we may have luck. I hope the poor devils won’t drown before we can place her or the boats.” The wind had subsided, but Stephen looked doubtfully at a gray mountainous swell. The captain caught his thought. - “The storm stopped in a twinkling, an hour after you had gone below,” he said. queried Ste- ‘Wired her masts had blown away, . “ Of course, we couldn’t do anything in (é (E@) micbook : < » agi en a a . - = —.