Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 107: what you’re looking at

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

“EVERY MINUTE COUNTS. Righteous anger was in Richard’s eye as he returned his head to the pil- lows. “Tm not uneasy,” he said. “ Bur- glars don’t worry me a little bit. But if there is any way of managing it, I’d like to get in a little sleep between now and morning. Would it be all the same to you if I moved into some quieter room—in the attic or some such place?” The colonel drew a deep, shaky breath. “This room will be quiet for. the rest of the night, I promise you,” he said, for the moment visibly contrite; and then, gazing still at Richard, he burst out: “ But, dammit, I could have sworn—’’ “ Well?” Mr. Melton asked wonder- ingly as he paused. “Nothing, Vane—nothing,” the colonel muttered. “You'll pardon me for waking you?” “ Yes—oh, yes,” tiently. The colonel switched off the lights once more arid moved toward the door. “Good night, Mr. Vane,” he said almost humbly. “ Good night,” said Richard. And now he was gone, and for a time Richard merely lay there and chuckled. This was not his normal, hearty chuckle, by any manner of means; it was just a queer, weak little cackle. Still, he was genuinely amused, for the thing was funny enough; he had actually come through this last ex- ‘perience with a whole skin. If the light or the colonel’s aim had been a little better— Oh, well,*there wasn’t much sense in shuddering over that, was there? Richard stretched out and grinned. The great consideration just now, you see, was that he knew his way to the back stairs. The rear door was somewhere on the other side of the kitchen; that was pretty safe guessing. Willis would have sense enough to Richard said pa- aes 7A sneak down and open it again; that might be assumed. So that at last, after all the dangers and the tribulations, there was nothing much to the proposition of departing beyond waiting here for another hour —and then walking out. In many ways, this was really the most comfortable time that Richard had known since entering the colonel’s home. His hands behind his head, he sprawled there in the darkness and en- joyed it to the full—for all of ten min- utes. And then, on his passageway door, a sharp little tap-tap-tap sounded. Mr. Melton frowned. The hour considered, that was a pretty robust rapping. Had the colonel forgotten something or discovered new evidence or possibly— “You're not asleep, Mr. Hagegin’s voice inquired. “ Oh—you, eh? No; come right in,” responded Richard’s bright undertone, and he chuckled again. On the instant, he understood the reason for this visitation. It had dawned upon Haggin at last that the new secretary was really intent upon leaving the ancestral home; doubtless, Vane?” also, the butler had come to feel that — the household had had quite enough of Mr. Melton. So now he had come to advise Rich- ard that the coast was clear for an- other try—all of which shows us that fundamentally Richard Melton was an incurable optimist. “May I turn on the light, sir?” the butler inquired. “You sure may,” Richard. Haggin ?” And. he grinned as the switch snapped—and then he ceased grinning and frowned again, more wonderingly. That suggestion of elephantine play- fulness which he had rather expected to find lurking about Mr. Haggin was altogether lacking. The person’s fat face was red and angry; he breathed noisily; and now he advanced with said the cheery “What’s on your mind now, 529 we