Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 3 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

BEWARE OF smiled sadly. She could not thus deceive herself: she knew quite well that she would _ not attend. | However, it could do no harm to slip up to the attic and look at those old gowns of Great-grandma Lawson’s. That much Mary might permit herself, so she sped very quietly to the attic and opened the trunk; and under the light of the swinging incandescent she drew out the quaint old silk gown with its great green flowers, me- mento of a gay, long-gone girlhood, and draped it over her slender figure and looked down wistfully at the result. — The big comb and the thick black lace scarf were in there, too; had she been go- ing to the ball, she could have drawn back her hair and covered it with the scarf and been reasonably safe from recognition. Absently, almost involuntarily, Mary rolled up gown, scarf and comb. As if the | Evil One had laid them there, paper and string seemed to hurl themselves upon her notice. Mary stared fascinatedly at them and pondered. Now, it was just barely possible that she might change her mind after all; and in that case she might not have another oppor- tunity to slip up here for the things without attracting attention. Merely as a precau- tionary measure, it might be as well to make up her little package and drop it down to the thick shrubbery beside the house. Shakily, Mary did so—and almost immediately started down-stairs, to recover them and take them back to the attic. In the lower halfway she encountered Maggie, who bore the news that Uncle Arthur was already seated and things get- ting cold. So, as has-been noted, Mary dined alone with her uncle. ‘Long before dessert, she had gained full poise. Be the useless sacrifice of inclina- tion what it might, she would not play ‘Billy false, even in the smallest thought. She would stay right here with her uncle, chatting about family matters until train- time. The smile she forced was really _ brilliant in its martyred serenity; yet Uncle _ Arthur, scraping his way back from the table, met it with a sharp: “ You got anything special on your mind, Mary?” ~ Digitized by (Go ogle THE BRIDE. 345 Mary started. ‘““Why—no!” she said, and flushed slightly. ‘Why do you ask that?” ‘You ain’t?” CT § No! »”) “What made you jump and turn red, then?”’ Uncle Arthur asked, with point. ‘““I—didn’t do either of those things!” Mary stammered. 6c Huh?” ““T said I didn’t do either of those things.” “You did both,” her uncle corrected, and shook his head dubiously and did not cease his peering. ‘“‘ Listen here, Mary! I’m an old man with a good deal of experi- ence. If there ss anything, you may as well come out with it now as later on. You had some trouble with your husband?” “ Certainly not!” “You laying pipes to have some, then?”’ ‘“‘'What in the world do you mean by that?” Mary cried. .““ Mary, you were always a flirt!” the old gentleman said, pleasingly. “I don’t say it’s so, but it looks to me as if you might have come back here to—”’ “I came to say good-by to mother and dad!’ Mary said hotly. | ‘You took good care to land when they wasn’t here, and I heard at least two young fellers talking to you out there, in the hour you were sitting on the porch! They woke me up!” “If you dare—” Mary began. *“‘ Pah!” said her uncle, with his peculiar little whinny. ‘I guess I dare enough to keep an eye on you!” Yet now he arose and reached for his newspaper. , ‘You don’t start said?” ‘A little before that.” till around ten, you ‘Wake me up when you're ready to go and I'll take you to the station.” _ “You—you aren’t going to sleep again?” Mary faltered. ‘“‘ Nap,” said her uncle, briefly. ' “ Not a wink all last night, with the devilish cats yowling out back. Wake me up.” — “Oh, if you’re comfortable when I’m ready, I won’t bother you,” Mary said, with straining sweetness. NOO Original fi e@ — So C@ -M\ J) I