Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

BEWARE OF stiiness of the . Braydon night, the long: drawn note of 2 lecomotive-whistle pene- trated the fifth floor of the Cypria Apart- ments. Its piercing note echoed and died away. There fottowed several seconds of a pect- liarly heavy silence. Once more the armor took to swaying and sagging. “ Fom!’’ choked Mary Emerson. “ Yes, I heard it!” “ That was Billy’s train!” “It may have been—” “Tt was Billy’s train! It always whistles like that when it leaves the yard limits, going out! T hat was the train I promised Billy I'd meet! That was the tram I—I swore—”’ “S Pegt!”’ said Thomas, because her voice ‘was rising. “ T will not ‘ psst ’!”’ stormed the hetmet. “You made me miss that train! If you’d never made me get into that ridiculous thing, I'd be on that train at this minute! I—I—” Tears choked her voice. . “Mary, will you come in here like a sane girl or do you want to stand im the doorway and have Hysterics and gather a crowd and get—I don’t know how much— unpleasant publicity?” young Mr. Henning asked firmly. “It’s one thing or the other. “‘¥ can’t hold off all comers forever, you know. Somebody’s bound to take off that helmet, if you carry on like this and—oh, come on, Mary!. Don’t be absurd.” He placed an arm about the knight and closed the door quietly. It chanced that the knight was weeping and im nead of com- fort just then; she did not resent the move. Nor, indeed, did she resist as Thomas, with a deep, internal groan, led her to the little living-room and switched on the lights —nor even when, a moment later, he lifted of the helmet. a CHAPTER XVIII. FROM DOOR TO DOOR. E was upon the point of delivering a short, stern lecture upon hysteria in emergencies. He did nothing of the kind. One glance at Mary just then must have melted a heart of granite. BA THE BRIDE. 577 Her hair was mainly down—and charm- ingly. Her eyes, dazed and scared, glistened tears. She was tired and stricken and very lovely indeed—so that as a substitute for hos lecture Thomas favored her with as radiant and cheering and soothing a smile as ever came to human features! The eyes, however, did not grow less frightened. They were wandering about the lovely little place now, and their amaze- ment grew and grew. Despite everything else, a thrill of pardonable pride came to Thomas. . She was astonished at the luxury of the establishment and well she might be as- tonished! There were few<houses and no other apartments in Braydon done up quite so perfectly! What with the really good taste of Thomas himself and of Miss Dolly Hayes and the hints that a perfectly genu- ine New York interior decorator had been able to offer, this was a real home! Why, the few pieces of furniture in this room alone had soared gaily imto four fig- ures; between this very spot and the kitchen one might walk over nearly two thousand dollars worth of rugs; and the bosky, thick- ly hung little music-room right there, with the exquisite little grand piano for Delly— ‘ “Tom!” Mary said, with some difficulty. ‘* This—this isn’t yours?” ‘Ah! But it is!” “ But, you—forgive me—you were so 7 ‘That was before uncle died in Alaska!”’ said Thomas. “Is it possible that you hadn’t heard about uncle dying in Alaska? I thought everybedy from New Orleans to Halifax had heard about that. Yes—” It was curious, of course, but Mary was paying no heed at all. Instead, after an- . other sweep of the place, her eyes were upon young Mr. Henning again. “You know what—Billy ’d think, if he were to walk in and—and find me here?” she choked. “TI do not.” . “ Well, he’d think that I’d heard of your /Setting—getting rich, or whatever did hap! pen and that—oh, I don’t know what he’d think! I don’t know what he’d thmk!” Mary cried suddenly—and dropped into a chair, weeping again—and sought to bury Original fro HIO STAT a | NGO \C NOOK CO