Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 45: what you’re looking at

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

JUNGLE -LOVE. a Who was that smartly dressed guy? He : didn’t leok as if ‘be worked for a living. Was he some rich dude? Had Julie met him before? The way she had smiled, and their marmer of going off together seemed to suggest, moreover, a previous Besiualti anceship. Until late in the evening these questions bothered Ernest and cropped in ‘between thoughts of his own disiusionment. True, be had never spoken of an engagement, or even directly suggested to Julie the passi- bilities that lay im the future. The code of articulation in the male “steady ” is fines himself to generalities, but— ‘A girl ought to kaow when a feller Reams business,” reflected Emnest . crossly. “She hadn’t no right to let me down like that. I won't stand for it. I’m done.” So did Ernest decide offhaad. On reflec- tion, the saemory of Julie’s blue eyes, ber neat, eprightly littl figure, her quick laugh, caused him to amend his decision. “First of all [ll find out about that chap,” he determined. ‘‘ Maybe he was just some masher she picked up wi With the intention of discovering what he might, Kemnedy called at Julie’s room- ‘ing-howse. Mrs. Bruce none too amiably informed bin that Miss Somers was not in. Vague- ly disturbed, the young man lingered about the street and finally took up a permanent position in a convenient deorway at the. cerner. The kours went by, but his resolve to stick # out and have a word with the girl became amore fixed. _ When he saw her jump owt of a taxi, and saw the same smartly dhessed man who had met her at the “L” gaily wave his hand to her, Eraest oauld mot make yp his mind to show Aimself until the mam in the taxi had gone. . Kennedy was not afraid of any physical -trouble, but he was distinctly scaned of be- ing laughed at. For reasons of his own, Artie had not tokd the chauffewr to drive on until Julie _ had mounted the stoop and gone ia. Then, with the lecation of her house fixed in his fer Enmest Kennedy to do anything. Top -611 ' late $0 call at the house. Too jate for all kinds of things that had not entered his naad at the time. Exnest went hack to his room amd spent 8 couple of heurs proving himself wrong and a slow coach. However, he shept well, amd Sunday marning weat for a walk. After hunch be took another walk. Sun- day evening found bim ia the place he bad, on and off, been near all day: the Cerae;r of Julie’s street. : At seven o'clock abe came out, and again a false sense of self consciousness thwansed Emest Kennedy’s preconceived intentions: He had pictuved the meeting, arranged in his mind how he would meet Julie, what he would say, and how he would comvey to her his opiniaa that he had not been treat- ed, quite fairly. He would wait until she reached the corner and then— Before then Artie hewnded the corner and met Julie fifty paces from whene Ken- Now there is not the least doubt, if Exm- est had been able to correctly read Artie, he would have stepped up, and the tropical bird of the broken meledy would never have had the girl for audience; but al- though the girl’s self-styled “ steady ” had no goad opinion of the smartly tailored Artie, he was far from getting anywhere wear the actual truth. But although, figu- ratively and literally, be steod hack, Ernest was piqued with a desire to know more, and when Artie and Jule walked up the avenue, talking with apparent unconscious- ness of his existence, Emest Kennedy fal- lowed them. Artie did not know they were being fol- lowed; but Julie, well, a girl does not have aay friendly relationship with‘a young man without being aware when he is within sight; but as has been said, she had been pretending that she liked Exmest’s com- pany, and now she had found some ene | who interested her to a greater degnee, she did not feel at all embarrassed by any feel- iag of regret for Kennedy... In her mind she had summed him up as being “a decem kind of a feller, but stadgy and rather stupid.” lo this extent she was entitled to her opinions, but Ernest was Something 1 mone than a rather tamely sub- comicloookks CO