Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 5, 1921 — page 123: what you’re looking at

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

THE home to-night. I gotta date to meet a girl friend after the show over to the Claridge.”’ “Well, to-morrow then. Tell me where you live and Jl! be around early. We ought to start betimes and have a day of it.” A glance at the screen showed Mary that the Brent picture was just coming on. She must bring the affair to an end. “ Here, Mr. Burton,” she said, handing the young man Miss Bickers’s card. “ My address is there. I'll be ready for you at eight o’clock sharp. “That’s fine. I'll have the car around on the dot.” ‘Gee, here's the picture! But I guess you’ve seen it, Mr. Burton. You must get tired looking at Brent’s pictures?” “Yes, I’ve seen this one until 1 know it by heart. And as long as you won’t let me see you home, Miss Bickers, I'l] run alony and make plans for to-morrow, if you'll excuse me?”’ “Why, certainly, Mr. Burton. An’ don't you forget an’ oversleep or anything.” ‘You bet, I won’t! Well, so-long until to-morrow, Miss Bickers!” He shook hands with Mary and then went out. As he passed through the lobby he chuckled to himself: “‘Oh, boy! They sure fall for little James W.!” ry. Mary REGAN experienced more real ecstasy as she sat through the picture than her young life had ever known before. It was not hard to imagine the reception the so-called Mr. Burton would receive at the hands of the real Miss Bickers. But what if Miss Bickers should come down to: the store? The thought startled Mary. But Miss Bickers was such an old dear and, anyway, she would not know where the card had come from.. I‘ears left Mary and it was in high glee that she walked across Forty-Second Street after the performance to get the Elevated home. All night long she dreamed of a wild chase across Westchester fields, in and out of Westchester roadhouses. Mr. Burton was in the lead and behind him brandishing an umbrella hurried Miss Bickers, Marvy NIPPED BUD. 409 sat on a fence beside Worth Brent and watched the sport until she laughed so hard she lost her balance. The jar of the fal! woke her up and one hurried glance at the clock told her she had overslept. By a superhuman burst of speed, also by going without breakfast, she broke all rec- ords and dashed ‘through the employees’ entrance to the great store just as the open- ing gong sounded. Before the reverberating echo of it had died she was at her place behind the novelty counter. “Thank the Lord old Smither’s didn’t see me,’ she gasped. There was no time for her to catch her breath, however, for with the opening of the doors, Miss Bickers came flying down the aisle, her old-fashioned skirt spread like a cup-challenger’s sail. Straight for the novelty counter she headed and began talk- ing the moment she was in range. “Young woman! Where is my card? What do you mean by sending a disrepu- table villain to my apartment at half past seven in the morning? You come with me to the manager at once! The very idea!”’ It was Mary’s turn to tremble. ‘“ Hon- est, Miss Bickers, it was only a joke, I— i—- “A joke, young woman! Are you in your proper senses? A joke? To have a man ring my bell and then when I went to the speaking-tube to ask me to go joy-riding with him? <A joke? To be told I was a piker and a bum sport when I informed him he had made a mistake? A joke? For him to tell me I had given him my card at a theater and that I had cold feet? Young woman, is that a joke?” ‘“Oh—oh, please, Miss Bickers. Don’t g-get me f-fired! I—TI didn’t m-mean no harm, honest, I d-didn’t. I r-read your col- yum about the mowe m-m-mashers and I w-w-wanted to—”’ At the mention of her column Miss Bick- ers’s mien grew less belligerent. “Does reading my advice to girls who work give you the right, young woman, to take liberties with me?” ‘“N-no, Miss Bickers. I—TI didn’t mean no h-harm. I—I just thought y’ could handle that m-masher b-better than I could. He—he followed me to,astheiten ard?