Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 66: what you’re looking at

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

572 ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WS§EKLY. “He may not have understood that you were a girl!” Thomas suggested mildly enough. ‘That makes no difference at all! You understood it and you let him!” Mary panted, and the purely hysterical note in her voice largely explained the train of thought. “You'll have to forgive me, Mary. Shall we—”’ “J’ll never forgive you! Never! Never!’’ came so passionately through the iron slits that young Mr. Henning all but expected to see flame follow the words. “ And that isn’t the worst! You gave me to them! You gave me, bodily, to that pack!” ‘‘ Mary, could I possibly wrestle you away from them by main force? This isn’t a bartender’s picnic, you know, or a politi- cal outing! You can’t start a fight when you feel like it at a fashionable gathering.” - The panting behind the helmet seemed to increase, rather than to diminish. ““No, but you could have found a way if you’d wanted to find one! You found one quickly enough when it suited your purpose. No, that was your idea of fun! Letting them pound me and throw me around! Fun! Fun! Fun!” “Hush, Mary!” gasped Thomas. “ If - you want that train—” He could have produced no greater shock with the policeman’s own club. The armor shook suddenly, top to toe, and then grew steady. Inside the helmet, there was an audible gulp—another gasp—a sob. “ Take me—out of here!’? Mary moaned. “Well, don’t cry about it!’’ Thomas vir- . tually snapped, as he moved her on, even - again, toward the main entrance. “ You'll only attract more attention. Knights didn’t weep much and they never planned armor for the kind that did. “If you’re going to shake and rattle like that you—there! Did you see that wo- man staring at your” He summoned his sadly strained smile and moved on. The commotion in the armor subsided somewhat. “‘ You—dare—abuse me, too!” issued from’ within it, chokingly. ‘‘ With all the rest you’ve done, you dare abuse me! If I—if I could tell Billy Emerson all you’ve done to me, do you know what he’d do to your” “I do not and I’m not interested,” Thomas said acidly. ‘ I’ve done my best, Mary, and if things have slipped it isn’t my fault. Here, by the inscrutable grace of Heaven above, is the door! Are you able to walk through it?” 6c Yes! 9 “Well, I don’t know how it happens, but there isn’t a servant or a maniac of @ committee member or anything else around at this moment. It looks as if we could walk straight out! We can!” said Thomas. He quickened his pace a little, causing the armor to stumble. Teeth grinding, he piloted the strange figure across the most magnificent private entrance in Braydon and seyeral adjoining cities—yes, and through the great doorway, too, and now his incredulous ears were actually hearing the gentle click of its latch. _ And now, by all that was astounding, hard stone steps were beneath his feet. They passed down both of them and came to a cement walk=—and for volume of air expelled, the gasp that_came from Thomas Henning equalled at least three of Mary’s best! For they were free! o CHAPTER XVI. IN HER POCKET. FTER all the excitement, all the shocks, all the hair-breadth escapes and everything else, they were past the portal and in the open night. It seemed to Thomas that he had just taken a new lease upon life. He glanced up arid down the still, dark avenue and across to the brilliant, deserted entrance of the Cypria Apartments. If the nightmare had been luck, the luck had turned! ‘Careful now, Mary,” he camtioned gen- tly. ‘“ Those shoes are heavy and—”’ ‘Don’t speak to me, please!” “ What?” | “ Please!” came coldly from the helntet. “You’ve done enough!” At a) HE OHIO CATE UNG MIE DOOKKS= CO