Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 119: what you’re looking at

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

noon’ and so on. And many days eee MINUTE COUNTS. 541 Richard winced visibly. Aye, he remembered that one! He also re- you wrote twice! There must be nearly fifty of them! “Now, if I were to take them to Samson—he must have samples of your writing; at all events, he'd find means of getting one!—if I were to take them to Samson and tell him that you’ve been pursuing me, in recent months, J mean, and ask his protection —just what do you suppose he'd do, Dicky?” Young Mr. Melton’s thudding heart all but choked him. He had no need to do any supposing, you see. He knew just what the colonel would do, once a romance had been proved; the colonel had told him! He would escort wife and secretary to the door together and send them forth together, to find their new happiness! “And I should have to tell him also, I suppose, that you. forced your way into our happy little home under a false name, just to be near me,”’ Gwen added softly. “ Well?” Mr. Melton said nothing at all. Gwen smiled in her triumphant way. “ He’d shoot you down, Dicky, right in your cunning little tracks!’ said she. Well, unless the colonel should change his mind upon the spur of the moment, she was wrong about that de- tail, of course. As concerned the broad proposition. of dire punishment, how- ever, she was far from wrong. Mr. Melton smiled quite weirdly. Given the choice between mere death and the gift of this beautiful lady by her husband, he was inclined to think that he would prefer to be put out of his misery on the spot. ‘““J—don’t believe—” steadily. “That I have the letters? No, I expected that, of course,’ Mrs. Bragg smiled, and slim fingers slipped beneath the neck of her light gown for an in- stant. “So I brought the gem of the collection, Dick. | Do you remember this one? It begins, ‘ Oh, light of my life!” he began un- " = 7 a a) ee a - = . aa ek sc A, ee re, eh ee (ae Se ee ee Oe tee Oe Lat ee ee eee Se o - Pe ny membered the opening lines, which ran: ‘“T have lived through another fright- ful seven hours away from you, my love. -Hours? No! Aeons!” He re- membered the next sentence, too, which began— “Well, you needn’t blush so ter- ribly, Dicky,’ Gwen laughed. “ They were sweet! But you do want to stay now, don’t you?” One long minute Richard pondered. She was right—more right than she could suspect. “Yes!” he said dully. “Well, that’s more like our little man,” Gwen smiled approvingly. “ TPIl have to—go and phone,” Mr. Melton’s lifeless voice mumbled on. “Isn't there a—a telephone off in a corner somewhere? Where I’m not likely to be overheard ?” “ You’re not contemplating any new tricks, are your” 6é No. “Word of honor, Dicky?” 6é Yes. 43 “Run up in my rooms and you'll have all the privacy you want,” said the kindly lady. “It’s a straight wire, too, by the way; it has no connection with: the regular house line.” So Richard trudged away, head bowed, spirit broken at last. ‘To the best of his understanding, the last hope was gone now. He would explain to Anne as best he could and then—oh, there was nothing after that! Miss Crosby must have been sitting with her hand on the telephone. Her voice came with the very first tinkle of the bell, in: “ Er—Dick ?” “Yes,” Richard said. “ Dick, what train are you taking?” the breathless voice went on. “T’m not taking any train, Anne.” “What?” “Nope. I’m staying as I am.’ There was a pause of seconds; sees “Oh, you’ve revealed yourself, of SORES com =