Argosy, Vol. 120, No. 1 — page 29: what you’re looking at

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

THE DEBT, That vision was and was not, in the span of a second. Then Burns found himself actually looking into the eyes of his friend’s wife, A | He saw her soul stripped of every rag and ribbon that it wore. She loved him. Look answered look between them, as flame leaps to the snapping pitch-pine. And there: was more than that: it was as though they had taken time to talk it all out and ex- plain to each other that by a little delay or carelessness or blundering the man out there in the river would go strangling under the ice and their only chance for . happiness. would be lost. The fingers of Stowe had just begun to slip, the pails had not stopped rolling, when David leaped up the spongy path with feet that had never gone more swiftly upon any errand. He wrenched away a heavy plank that had served to guide the drippings from the eaves of the house and fairly hurled himself toward the river. He sent the plank sliding out over the ie and dropped upon it, face downward, as a boy rides a sled. The impetus carried him out to the open- ing that had broken about Stowe, and one end of the plank went within reach of Harry’s hands just as his hold upon the ice relaxed, They lay face to face for a moment, pant- ing; Stowe’s fingers pressed white against the plank and Burns striving to get back the breath that had been bumped out of him at the beginning of that quick slide. - A stone, with a rope slithering behind it, bounded to his hand and he realized that Molly had been as quick as he to act. He thanked God for that; and he cursed what- ever devil had put the other black thought up to his mind. Burns noosed the rope, threw it over the. head of his partner, and drew it close after Stowe had worked it down under his arm- pits. Then he shouted to Molly to hold fast on the bank while he crept in on hands and knees, shoving the plank ahead of him, over ice that cracked and threatened mo- mentarily to break up, now that it had been given the initial blow. Dave reached shore and took the rope from Molly’s hands without looking at her. Then he kept it taut while Stowe, to whom. 19 he had flung the plank, worked his slow way in. They stood together on the bank in silence for a moment, shaken and wet and trembling; and in silence they walked back to the cabin. ““Empty the Jamaica-ginger bottle into the dipper, Molly,” said Stowe, “ and fix it up with sugar and water. I got to get warm inside and out.” Burns, trying to dry out his own knees by the fire, heard the slap of wet garments as they fell from Stowe in the bedroom. Molly started to go in with the drink, but he met her coming out, dressed in the suit he had bought the summer before: He drained the dipper in two long drafts and sat down so that he faced David from the other side of the stove. His eyes grew a little clouded as they swung from the face of Burns to that of Molly, who was trying to smile at him as she hung his wet clothes upon 2 line back of the stove. It seemed to Dave almost as though there was a sneer under the mustache. of his partner as he spoke. “You saved my life,” he said, a little thickly because of the Jamaica-ginger, “ and I owe you a debt.” “ Oh, shucks!” wriggled Burns. “ You'd have done as much for me—and it was more Molly than me, anyway!” | Stowe appeared not to have heard: he seemed searching for what he wanted to say—either that or struggling to keep down some tremendous press of emotion. “ By God, I’ll pay that debt!” he roared with the suddenness of a crash of thunder. Out of .the silence that followed, the monotonous ticking of the clock made it-. self feard. The fire snapped. The sound of hurrying drops from the eaves penetrated into the room. Stowe sat.stiffly upright in his chair, arms curved and clenched fists resting upon his knees. He was a little bit loosened by the drink—enough so that. the things in his mind were ready to come out into the light. Molly had shrunk at the outburst; but her head lifted and her gaze held unwaveringly to the face of her husband. Dave, after the first shock of astonishment had passed, held determinedly to one thought—peace for the sake of Molly. CO DOOLK CO