Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 189, No. 4 — page 153: what you’re looking at

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

THE ENCHANTED WEEK. should go to the shore. Mary had written, reserving rooms for her aunt and for her- self. Their arrival impressed the hotel clerk and the guests in the ornate lobby. Quiet and unassuming, with an unmistak- able air, there was no doubt that these two were true aristocrats. Upstairs, they giggled as they unpacked, and Mary changed from her traveling dress to a smart knitted sports suit. She also hung up the three evening frocks she had purchased ready made. There wasn’t going to be much left when she paid that doctor’s bill! But this won- derful, enchanted week was going to be worth the price. Happily enjoying the secret that no one suspected, Mary and Old Lady Five-and- Ten held themselves aloof from the other guests. Not that Mary did not notice the admiring glances of several youths who watched her whenever she appeared. Of course she liked the homage their eager eyes expressed; but she refused to let them be introduced when the hotel hostess asked if Mary cared to dance. “Thank you, no,” said*eOld Lady Five- and-Ten, declining on Mary’s behalf. “ My niece is recuperating—avoiding all excite- ment. We are really here to rest.” That dashed the hopes of the youths who had begged the hostess to present them. Mary thought her attitude pleased one ‘dark young man. He was sitting with a book and a pipe in a chair a little apart from the disgruntled group. He was apparently a stranger, alone at the hotel. Mary had caught him several times looking in her direction. He had al- ways dropped his eyes when he saw that she noticed him. During dinner Mary saw that he was at a table by himself. She liked the cut of his dinner coat, his smoothly brushed back hair, and his studious expression. If she had cared to meet any man, he was the one in the whole hotel who would have appealed to her. Looking up as she ate her dessert, she observed that he had gone. If Mrs. Bray- ton was aware of her interest in the chap, she made no comment on it. Stepping into the lift, to go to their 628 rooms, Mary flushed as she recognized the same man in the car. He moved aside with deference, and did not look up at her. Slowly the car moved upward. Then it stopped abruptly, halfway between two floors. Somehow the mechanism was jammed. They would have to stay where they were until it could be fixed. ‘Nothin’ to be frightened about,” the negro operator reassured them. ‘‘ The car won’t fall, and the engineer will fix us up right smart.” But “right smart” extend- ed itself over more than twenty minutes. Mrs. Brayton sat in the narrow seat-at the rear of the cage. The young man stood facing Mary, blushing and embarrassed. He wondered if Mary imagined that he had somehow planned this accident with pur- poseful intent. She was wondering why he did not climb ot through the roof of the car. Mrs. Brayton relieved the awkwardness by speaking to him. “ Since we seem to be neighbors for some time, we hardly need be formal,” she re- marked pleasantly. “I hope you’ve no en- gagement.”’ “Luckily no—or unluckily,’ he an- swered, and glanced at Mary. She smiled frankly back at him. “Tam Mrs. Brayton. This is my ward, Miss Horton.” “Tm Allan Kane” He thanked her. “You're from Philadelphia?” “Yes,” said Mary, and he explained that he was from New York. “I’m with Ruth- ven, Boyd and Ruthven,” he mentioned the name of a legal firm of the highest standing. For the next ten minutes they chatted on about nothing of any moment. Then when the car slid to its floor, Mary uttered a frightened scream as Mrs. Brayton fainted. Vv. Two hours later Mary and Kane were in a rolling chair. The boardwalk breeze was bracing, and a new moon silvered the sea. Old Lady Five-and-Ten was asleep in her hotel room. Kane had helped Mary carry her from Gomichbooks (E@)