Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 14, 1928 — page 124: what you’re looking at

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

262 He shook his head, as if trying to lose such a vision. “What's the matter with you?” de- manded Bill Fenton, finally noticing > his roommate’s behavior. “Oh, nothing.” A silence. The two had reached their company, and were awaiting the command to fall in. “ Bill, let’s go to the hop to-night?” Jack paused, and then added apolo- getically: “It’s a feed hop, you know. And we start training for the boxing season next week. So, it will be our last chance to fill up on ice cream and stuff.” “No soap,” was Bill’s terse com- ment. “Too darned many girls over there. I like the ice cream and cakes all right, but I get too nervous at the sight of bare arms. You can go if you want to.” “Cee, I’d hate to go without you, Bill,” began Jack. The mere thought that Jack might possibly go without him was enough for Bill. He was well aware that the red head was not as strong in the faith as he might be. | / “Don’t worry! You're not going without me. Think I’d trust you alone with all those women over in Cullum Hall °” LY: Not many hours later, two stags pushed their way through the crowd that edged the refreshment tables in the small ballroom of Cullum Hall. Bill and Jack reached for their first plates of ice cream. As they ate, they looked around them. The place was comfortably filled with couples, who, having tired of the dancing upstairs, were now re- freshing themselves. It was on the fifth plate of ice cream, when Jack, looking down the red-car- peted hall which led to the marble stairs going to the main ballroom, saw a vision which caused him to hold his spoon suspended halfway to his mouth. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. A girl in filmy gray was coming down the stairs. Her red hair was bobbed, and clustered in curls around her small, beautiful head. It was the face which arrested Jack. The same face that had troubled him since parade. The face of the girl in the gray squirrel coat. Beside her proudly walked Buford Hayes, the color corporal. Instantly Jack was seized with chills. He became frightened. He wanted to disappear some place. To make him feel worse, like crea- tures of fate, the couple seemed to be advancing straight in his direction. There was an unholy grin on Bu- ford’s face. “Hi, there, you fellows!” he cried. “ Didn’t expect to see you here. You look like life-savers to me.” Bill had been so busily engaged in securing another plate of ice cream that he had not noticed the couple come up. He looked up now, startled, abashed. He endeavored, guiltily, to return his sixth plate to the table. Buford chortled on: “You're just the fellows I’ve been looking for... I want you to take care of my girl for me. I’ve got to go back to barracks for a few minutes.” Jack heard Bill snort under his breath: “ Put up job. Won't do it.” He hoped the girl didn’t hear. The gay color corporal was not through. ‘““T knew I could trust you fellows,” he went on. ‘‘ Which is more than I can say about the rest of the keen files who attend the hops nowadays. You can’t blame me, can you, with so charming—” And Buford bowed to the girl in gray, who smiled, and seemed to take his curtsy as her lawful due. “Well, ta-ta, Red. So long, Bill. See you in a few minutes.” Buford was gone. He left a vast, re abe embarrassed silence behind im. (E(0) 0)(0 0) (C@)