Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

748 Bert’s lips tightened. “ Don’ t kid your- self, David! I told Ruth a long time ago that when I made a success of this hotel 4 was—going after her! And I am!” “ H-m!” said David. come in from outside, son.” “Well?” “It’s a beautiful night,” David went on. “‘'There’s a yeller moon up with a man’s face grinnin’ out’n it.”’ Bert ignored him. ‘An’ there’s at least two millten more stars twinklin’ than ever twinkled b’fore.” Bert didn’t move. ‘An’ that there moon streams down in ‘urty teetle patches in the lane yonder, an’ vou kin see the stars every now ’n’ then through: the trees.” “Great guns!” cried Bert. Jet up, David?” ‘““One more leetle thing I noticed when I was out there, son. Ruth Warren jest drove up with her surrey to call for her dad an’ Sarah. She’s waitin’ out there now.” | Bert did not hesitate. Without a word to David, he dashed from the room, leav- ing by one of the doors that gave upon the _, paved promenade that ran the length of the building, under the loggia. Outside, he paused, letting his eager eyes sweep down the lines. of vehicles that edged the moon- flooded driveway. Excepting for the muffled strains of mu- sic that came ‘through the closed windows behind him, the clearing was as deserted as at that not distant time when the Majestic had lain wrapped in the decaying slumber of abandonment. In the blue-black byrn- “ Will ‘you “'y’ know, I jest ARGOSY- ALLSTORY WEEKLY. ous of the night there were myriads of loop- holes through which glittered tiny points of fire; and through an opening larger than the rest streamed down’ a sphere of-soft and mellow light that changed the brown turf of the terraced clearing into a gently roll- ing lake, and silvered, too, the leaf-desert- ed boughs of the trees beyond. The soft light enabled Bert to single out the Warren surrey from the double lines of empty vehicles. Ruth was in the front seat; and he took his stand beside her, leaning forward into the shadows that closed about her. + “Ruth,” he said, ‘“ I came to have a talk with you.” Even in the shadows her eyes reflected ' some of the starlight that the surrey-top shut out. ‘*Oh — not now,” she quavered, as if his nearness frightened her. ‘“ J—I’m waiting—” : “ Yes—now,” he insisted. ‘ They won’t be leaving for fifteen or twenty minutes.” - He paused. ‘‘ We'll drive down the road a bit—to where I made you listen to me once before.”’ Perhaps she wouldn’t have let him drive her away; perhaps she wouldn’t have lis- tened to what he had to tell her—which, it ds not. unlikely, she already knew; but, as David had remarked, there was a yellow . moon up with a man’s face grinning ‘out of it, and there were at least two million more stars twinkling than ever twinkled before; and through the trees of the lane beyond the moon streamed down, casting pretty little patches of mingled light and shadow on the road. . (The end.) f Lv} U + ENTRE NOUS BY REATA VAN HOUTEN "Ts well to bear this truth in minds That since the world began, Man’s love for maid the lesser is Than ever maid’s for man! nn) 6)(0)©) (C(O) ”) S (C(O) nn