Argosy All-Story Weekly — "Sea Marauders" — page 121: what you’re looking at

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

EVERY MINUTE COUNTS. than the original incredible muddle into which Richard had personally con- ducted himself and his prospects. What, then? Another woman? Had Richard been lying about every- thing and actually leaving town last night with some other woman? Anne shook her head; she couldn’t believe it, mainly because it was one of those things that are just impossible! — Yet what earthly force, save a wom- an, could be swerving Richard from his purpose of building the Combined Products factory at any cost? And he was swerving or being swerved, fast enough! Why, once Richard saw how the land lay, it would have been the simplest thing imaginable to tell Col- onel Bragg the plain truth — the simplest and the safest and the only possible thing to do! Why hadn't he done it? Why all the confusion in his voice? Why? And then, that laugh! That musical, mocking, assured laugh, laughed by a woman very near to Richard as he telephoned. Yes, that laugh! Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour, Anne sat there in her solitude, thinking, thinking. Then, her lovely face at last entirely without expression, Anne moved to the mirror and adjusted her jaunty little hat. And within another ten minutes she was sitting in the private office of Mr. William Reeves, founder and guiding spirit of the Interurban Em- ployment Bureau. Mr. Reeves, as ever, smiled benignly upon the lovely fiancée of his old friend. “Heard from Dick ’”’ he asked. “Oh, he telephoned—yes,’’ Anne said carelessly. “ Getting on fine, I'll bet!’ “He didn’t seem very enthusiastic,” Miss Crosby said. “That’s mostly the shock of tearing ae away from you, my pretty ” William grinned. “Give hima fae to get his wind, kid. Wait till . av :. Lt — - - — . - _ a > Bes a Se yes —_ eee ang ge Be pele Ses a hgh na Tig STA PR a GOR Re et ORG ON Ae en es LE NARS, 543 he gets a little air in his lungs and tramps around the woods a bit and does some communing with nature— all that sort of thing. He’ll come right down to earth and be himself again. This is going to do him a world of good, Anne!” ~ “T hope so.” “Oh, you take my word for it, it is! Rest and quiet in a place like Fir- wold is just what Dicky needs. I don’t believe Bragg ’ll overwork him.” He nodded his bland reassurance. Miss Crosby did not seem quite in the - mood to agree. “Still, I should think he’d be hor- ribly lonesome, up there in a bachelor home,” she said indifferently. “Last place in the world to get lone- some, if it’s like some I’ve seen,” Wil- liam grinned; and then he frowned rather thoughtfully. “Is Bragg a bachelor, Anne?” ‘““Isn’t her J don’t know. Why, I don’t even know where I got the idea that he was,” said indifferent Anne. Mr. Reeves frowned on. He was a painfully thorough man, chronically annoyed by a short memory, and, as a consequence, given to settling mooted points on the spot. ‘No, I don’t think he’s a bachelor, Anne,” he muttered. ‘“ I—I did know and I’ve forgotten. Here—wait a second!” « Where are you going?” “Just over here to look up Bragg. I’ve got ‘Who’s Who’ and ‘ What’s What,’ and all that kind of dope here,” William smiled. ‘“ Have to keep ’em on hand for business purposes, you know.” He selected a volume and softly | rustled through its pages. Had he but turned unexpectedly to face Anne’s burning gaze, he must have been as- tounded! But when he did turn and stroll again to his desk, the book in his hand, Anne’s eyes were wholly blank. “Here he is,’ mused William. “Yep—he’s married, Anne. He was married last year.” se comicbooks.c com ‘ Ss Rea RS we Ces OR or ee