Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 115: what you’re looking at

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

EVERY MINUTE COUNTS. 537 asked darkly. “ Well, you’d better be, mind me! I don’t have to cover your dirty tracks and take your abuse as well! My soul! I think I'll go to Colonel Bragg this minute and—” “ Hagein, 1—I—didn’t mean to be abusive!” Richard said brokenly. “I beg your pardon—yes, on the level, [ beg it! I’m all nervous-and upset. As for getting out, I’ll leave the second I can fix it with the colonel. Be decent, Haggin!” “Decent, eh?’ said the butler. “You'd best be taking a bit of your own advice and—’’ Richard passed into the mansion. He looked around. Where was the telephone—or had any one actually called? Bragg was reading there in his study; he favored Richard with one black stare and read on. Ah, yes, and over there, across the hall, was an in- strument with the receiver standing be- side it on the table. Mr. Melton - sat down with the usual: “ Hello!” “Mr. Vane?” asked the dearest, the most dulcet voice in the world! “Why, a—er—yes, this is Mr. Vane!” “This is Anne. us on this wire?” ~ “TJ think not.” = ‘“ You talk as if some one were with- in hearing distance, Dicky?” “Oh, that’s quite true,” said Rich- ard. “All right. Dl understand. Dicky, you have let yourself in for it this time ! There i is a night letter here for you—”’ “Yes, I know about that,” Richard said. ‘‘ J—er—attended to it!” “ You mean you sent it yourself?” “Yes,” said Richard. A peal of unrestrained merriment came to his ear. It was not echoed at Richard’s end of the line. “Well, then, of course, afterward you told him who you really were?” Anne said breathlessly. “ You couldn’t possibly have done anything else.” Can any one hear 2 fae ee ee Se See sooner ts fen Tie i pdt ne Boas iad re ia oa? ™ a apd ee re “There were — er — circumstances that made that seem inadvisable,” sighed Richard. “You mean that he still thinks you're Arthur Vane, Dick ?”’ “ That’s it exactly ?” “Well, then—well, what in the world are you going to do, then?’ Miss Crosby inquired, and seemed quite per- turbed. ‘ Dicky, you—you have to be there for lunch, as yourself, I mean! “You can’t possibly risk losing that wretched job after you’ve driven your- self nearly insane over it. knew you'd get into a mess if you did that ridiculous thing, Dick! I said so! I tried my best to talk you out of it!” “Well, I wish,” said Richard, from the very bottom of his heart, “ that you had succeeded.” “Oh, Dick, is it as bad as that? You sound—sound as if you had given up hope!’ Anne’s voice quivered. ‘‘ Can’t you tell me anything more about it?” “ Not just now.” There was a pause; then, full of new life, the dear voice cried: “Dicky! Had Colonel Bragg ever seen you before?” 6é 1a ge “Then [ve got it! I’ve got it! You'll think I’ve gone crazy, but I be- lieve I have it! Dick, your hair’s so long; come down quick and phone me the train you're taking and Ill have a barber and—and maybe a make-up man or something like that, at the sta- tion, and you can get a hotel room and have them change your appearance as much as possible; and [ll go to your apartment and get the—the most dif- ferent and oldest clothes you have and—” “Yes, I had thought of that.” “Really? Then hurry, Dick! Hurry! I can’t understand your stay- ing there last night, after you knew. Hurry!” “Er—very well. I'll be down at once. At once!” said Richard. ‘ Yes, 2 let you know which train! Good- by a: Oh, I just. is ” es “comicbooks.com 4