Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 69: what you’re looking at

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

SKID SMITH, SCHEME SPECIALIST. doesn’t mean any harm; it’s just her way of enjoying herself. Do you care for a large church wedding, or a small affair at home, with a few friends present? I sup- pose your mother has relatives whom she can visit frequently? -Were you ever mar- ried to a high, thin man who ran a delica- tessen?”’ So he chattered on, and Ann smiled and calmed down considerably’ ; although later, as the party returned to the porch, Skid heard her hiss a furious “ Beast!” into Bert’s left ear. what, signifying, as it did, the need of des- perate measures. And while every one else was presumably asleep, Skid ‘lay awake planning an extreme coup for the following evening. He was grinning contentedly when he fell asleep. Early the next morning he called Mae to one side for her daily instructions. “Now, to-day,” he said, “I would ap- preciate it immensely if you would hold yourself in check in so far as is humanly possible. Try to calm yourself, or we will not have any more house party—and think of the fun you will miss! But to-night, Mae, I wish you would persuade Bert to row you over to the island; say just at dusk, when the leaves on the trees are whispering softly. Then you and Bert sit under a tree for thirty minutes, at the end of which period you may come home.” “ Why not Jim also, or instead?” Mae pointedly inquired. “I like Jim—” “ So do I,” interrupted Skid, “ but I am now convinced that Jim contains no ele- ment of danger, while Bert is still influen- tial in certain quarters. Jim won’t think anything of it; I’ll fix that. Ill take care of everything, and it will be the last favor I ask of you. Do you know anything about the delicatessen business? I wonder if you’d like one of those new beaded-bags. Do you expect to return to Dubuque?” “No!” snapped Mae. “I'll do it—this once—because I agreed to. But I'll hate you as long as I live!” ‘For mercy’s sake!” said Skid, aston- ished beyond measure. ‘“‘ What in the world has altered your charming disposi- tion? I don’t care for you a great deal, more than you are going to care for me. This startled him some- . 635 Won’t that be lovely? Do you want a blue beaded-bag, or would you prefer some other shade?’’ ““T don’t want anything,” retorted Mae, “except to finish this horrible farce I agreed to. Ill live up to my bargain, but I wouldn’t accept your old shoes, or stock- ings, or anything—if—if I had nothing to wear but that bathing-suit!”’ Then she turned and left him, and Skid stared after her, wondering if it was the water or something she had eaten for break fast. The day passed uneventfully and quite pleasantly. Mama Temple smiled a great deal, and Ann’s eyes grew beautifully soft, and everybody was normal. Then evening came—and dusk—and Mae came abruptly - to life and resumed her devilishness which had been discarded since early morn.- She started in with Jim, deserting him after a short period for Bert. And inside of fif- teen minutes she was dragging Bert toward the boat-house and insisting that he row her about in the moonlight. It mattered not at all that the moon was not in evi- dence, and she did it so ingendously that Bert could not refuse and still look upon himself as a gentleman. Skid grinned at the others. ““ She'll never grow up,” he apologized for her. ‘ Just a child, that’s all—and a spoiled one. I wonder what a marriage license costs. Did you ever know a man to fail in love at first sight—honestly?” Then he got up and wandered away alone; and as darkness fell he might have been seen in Jim’s second rowboat pulling quietly for the island. The sky was black with clouds, and Skid was whistling softly and wondering if there was a vacant house in Lombard with built-in kitchen cabinet and book-shelves. Skid had had a very good reason for re- questing Mae to sit with Bert under a tree for thirty minutes. The only trees on the island were clustered together in the ap- proximate center, and there was a long stretch of beach and a luxuriant growth of long reeds between the water’s edge and the trees. As Skid reached the beach he was some- what relieved to discover that Mae had CONMUC DOO! YN S CO