Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 12, 1927 — page 74: what you’re looking at

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

does not matter. My interest is in the man- ager, not the mine. James Brent is only important to me because, at the moment. he stands in my way. It would surprise him to know now that he is in the hollow of my hand; but that is his actual position, and I will not submit to interference from any man living when it comes to the ques- tion of the woman I want. “You may wonder why I want you so much, and think it is only hunger for your beauty, but there is something more than that. What it is I cannot explain nor will T attempt to. It is not capable of explana- tion.” Sylvia began to tremble and again felt the firm pressure of his hand. “ I’ve nearly finished, and then you may say what you like. It won’t make any difference, but let me finish first. I want you to see clearly that a false move on your part will ruin this man you say you care for, though in my soul I don’t believe you do care. “ And after all, how much is there that you can tell him which is worthy of his cre- dence. You accept a cabin from me on this ship—no steamship company gives cabins de luxe for nothing—and pose before hun- dreds of strangers as the daughter of an old friend. In other words, you are as short-sighted as you are compromised, and as compromised as you are beautiful.” “You mean,’ she remarked bitterly, “that I am a fool?” “Tf you like to put it that way. Now, what do you propose to do about it?” CHAPTER VI. THE LOVELY FOOL. YLVIA lay awake that night listening S to the faint throb of the engines, while the daintiness of her cabin took on the similitude of a prison. The thing that stirred most vividly in her brain was not so much that Marcus King had at last unveiled himself, for she had had glimmerings that this must come before long, but that with a cynical confidence in his own powers he had called her a lovely fool. This had not rankled so deeply were she ae forced to admit its truth. With Oey ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. successive step she had become more en- tangled, and, looking back at the last few weeks, she marveled at her own blindness. There was no comfort in the reflection that at every turn she had unwittingly en- countered an art, a shrewdness, and resolu- tion so superior to her own. It was the thought of this art and ver- satility that had diverted her mind into a new channel, and slowly she became aware that King’s last challenge, a challenge made with all his calm assurance, had been to a contest in which he defied her to escape him. She could see with utter clearness that he took her to be weak and unsophisticated, that her protests seemed to him only tem- porary, and that he credited her with no real power or resolution or action. In other words, having displayed no art of her own, she was in consequence. de- fenseless. This last implication, strangely enough, now aroused her so completely that, with an effort as surprising as it was swift, she shook off the mental lethargy which, from the first, the presence of Mar- cus King had seemed to impose. In that moment she accepted his chal- lenge. A fool she might have been, but even fools were not always impotent. In was really her innocence and lack of experience which nerved her to this. Had her past life brought her into touch with men she might never have attempted it, but being ignorant, she had no means of determining how much she might safely undertake. No other man had ever before unfolded his mind to her as Marcus King had done, and she had nothing with which to compare it. There was one point of comfort to which, slight though it might be, she clung hope- fully. King had showed her his map and indicated the route to the Victrix, and the route he proposed to follow was the one she had selected herself. So, of the journey she felt reasonably sure. But, she would be alone with him in the wilderness for two days. Then, out of the innocence of her heart, came a strange assurance. Behind the _ shrewd and unscrupulous brain of Marcus - - =~ * - ee: - : — _ — = Fei ‘. om a es See ; <s _ =x ~~ ve oe oe = ae - —— To eee _ — — s. ———— =, < = - = ~. * —_—— ed - —~ ~! ‘comicbooke. com