Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

612 “It's always blowin’ things,” answered Mrs. Garth. ‘‘ And bright sunlight ain’t any too good for the eyes, Miss Tyson.”’ She could not see how Margaret stepped back and looked down, puzzled, at Garth’s _ mother. But Mrs. Garth felt the greater distance, and breathed more easily. Some- times, when the girl was so close, she felt as if she were fighting away an intoxication. It was like a spiritual danger leaning over her. Besides, really good girls, home- makers, were never so gay and confident as this Margaret Tyson. The latter made one more attempt, after starting to turn away. . ““It makes me really unhappy,” she said earnestly, ‘‘ to see you here all day—and most of the night—with that dark shawl around your shoulders, like a sign of mourning.” Mrs. Garth lifted her glance at that, and the mistiness cleared from her eyes a little. “When you get to my age,” she said, ‘ you'll have things to sorrow over.” ““ Not if I live to be a thousand. Sorrow is a habit. If you would come out—” Oh, Margaret!” called the deep voice of Garth. “Tm in here!” she answered. Then the door opened. _ “ We’re losing the prime of the morning. Let’s start before the crispness is out of the air.” ‘‘ [’m trying to get your mother to come.” ‘“‘Oh, mother?” Mrs. Garth tensed her- self. ‘‘ Don’t worry about her. You can’t pry her out of that chair. Come on, Mar- garet. Good-by, mother.” The door closed on them as Margaret went out, and the current of Mrs. Garth’s thoughts started again at the point where they had been broken off. Her son should not marry Margaret Tyson. That was the beginning and end of her ponderings, the period to each idea. Margaret Tyson should not marry Eddie. jt was not that she really disliked the girl, but there was a mortal strangeness about Margaret which was worse than dis- like. She felt that if Eddie married her, his mother would forever-after be an outsider in his home. Even now the girl was carry- ing him away into new fields. ’ v4 . 4 i a ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. She did not actually think that Margaret loved Garth. That was impossible. She had seen those keen, short side-glances now and again. Sometimes they rested on the furniture and sometimes they rested on the face of Edward—at such moments, for instance, as when he talked of pictures, or music. Other times, when he spoke of his work, his plans, his future, the girl was an intent, fascinated listener; but every now and then that keen, cold, penetrating glance darted out and transfixed something to the heart. Obviously, she could not love Edward. But sometimes, in this twentieth century, wo- men did not marry for love. It was not like the old days. Margaret might be ambitious. Yet it puzzled Mrs. Garth more and more as the days went on, seeing the growing intimacy between the two.- Margaret was above her son’s class, and no‘ good came from mixing classes. Edward himself often said that. He talked of it in Henry Tyson —the difference between that fellow’s pride and the pride of ordinary men. But of course he was blind to the pride of Margaret simply because that pride was covered with feminine softness. And she, for her part, was not blind to the faults of Edward—witness those keen glances many a time. But something seemed to charm the girl. . For one thing, she was continually re- verting to what “ Hal ” said of Garth. In the eyes.of her brother, it appeared that Garth was a great builder, an important man. Indeed, it seemed that the whole basis of Margaret’s regard for her son was based on what: Henry Tyson had told her. On that she built. To that she constantly reverted, and would not let theother jarring notes call her away from the main trend and tenor of the big man’s mind. He was a creator. And she talked of him as another girl might have talked of a poet. All this was strange to Mrs. Garth, but she felt vaguely that Henry Tyson was at the base of the trouble. He was the lever- age through-which Garth had been raised to such a height in the eyes of Margaret, They must not marry! She had tried various ways of opening