Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 150: what you’re looking at

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

432 mo, ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. played. a little golf and conducted an in- terminable tournament at pinocle. Then came an evening when they went to a rather brilliant social function and each fell hopelessly in love with a different woman, both of them beautiful women, brainy women, brilliant women. III. A WEEK or ten days after this momen- tous evening Bowman lingered at the door of the little room in his flat where Denby worked. His freckled friend was half buried in a stack of fat books, dipping here and there and making copious notes. Bowman hesitated uneasily, several times started to go and several times returned to lean against the door frame. “Eddy, I’m going to make a call,” he said at last. Denby remarked “ uhuh,” and kept on reading and jotting down notes. ‘“Qn Miss Sally Ames,’’ Bowman added. “Uhuh.” After a little Denby looked up and added: ‘‘ Been seeing a good deal of her, eh?” “I wish I could see her a great deal oftener. I wish I never had to take my eyes off her. I wish—’” Bowman stopped and reddened from his immactiate’ white collar to the roots of his brown hair. Denby looked at him with a ready grin, then looked away with a rare delicacy. “I see,” he said slowly, “I see! h-m.” He lighted another cigarette with careful de- liberation and smoked it half-way through. “Well, why don’t you?” he went on. ““Why don’t you? She’s a fine girl—a mighty fine girl, And a brainy one. You’re well suited, with your common in- terest in painting and sculpture—”’ “Don’t!” Bowman growled quickly. “ You know what a damn lie that is. My interest in painting and sculpture! A cheap, rotten pose, that’s what it is. What -do I know about art? What!” Bowman clenched his fists and breathed hard. Then he burst out again, answering his own question: “‘I know exactly what you’ve dug up out of books for me, that’s what I know. Not one damn thing more. Art? what do I care for art! But she, Miss Ames, she got the idea I know a lot—on account of those silly newspaper stories about the Cellini ewer and those paint- ings I—we—juggled around. And _ she knows everything about art. She’s a nut on the subject. That attracted her to me —she says so herself. And I’m committed —I’m in deep—over my head. And I’ve got to swim—to keep on swimming, on and on through a sea of lies until I choke to death!” Bowman stopped breathless, red of face, his chest heaving, his face desperate with wo. * “And when I do choke to death,’”’ he burst out again, “‘ when I give myself away, because I’m bound to give myself away, what’s she going to think of me then? What’s she going to think of a retten cheat and fraud and liar like me! What?” . Eddy Denby didn’t volunteer what Miss Sally Ames would think of his friend when she found him out so Bowman went on: “Tm ashamed of myself. I’m disgusted with this rotten pretense. For a nickel I’d go jump in the river, that’s what, because _ I—TI’d rather have her good opinion than be the Lord Almighty. And I’ve lied to her and she’s bound to find me out and I'll never get that good opinion!” “Well,” said Denby thoughtfully, touched by his friend’s unhappiness, “ if she did happen to return your—er—flattering regard, it wouldn’t be exactly because of art, anyhow. She’d probably fall in love with you—” “ She won’t ever love a liar. She’s not that kind of a girl,” Bowman said fiercely. ““ Maybe. But suppose you could skate along for a while, until you’d won her. After you were married, why—well, maybe it wouldn’t look so serious. Why, I can dig up enough dope to keep you going, Walter. Sure. Now, for instance, to-night, let’s see now, let’s see! Here’s a good one, Walter, here’s a deep one that ‘ll wear like a steel tire. Try her on the similarity of princi- ples of composition in painting, sculpture, music and verse. Now listen to me, get the idea. It’s a good one.” Bowman listened carefully while his friend and ghost drilled him in the essen- tials of a conversational topic designed to 9A Tonal onc ORMcOOKS.CO