Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 23, 1924 — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

208 “ Blood!” she cried. “ Gawd!” said Cowper, and the gun went off. “What do you see?” she exclaimed. But Cowper was speechless. “ What is it?” cried Marion. And Doug- las Gilfillan stepped out from the shadows. It was not the Douglas Gilfillan of old, because one of his eyes was closed, and there was blood upon his chin; but he would do. “Oh, Douglas!” she cried. not hurt.” “No, but it’s not Cowper’s fault, Please aim at me next time you shoot, Cowper. I like a modicum of safety.” Cowper looked upon the newcomer with disfavor. He didn’t know what the world was coming to with servants speaking to their superiors like this. He tried to put something of this disfavor into his voice, but he found that the shock of that gun explosion had wreaked frightful damage with his vocal cords. “Mind your manners, young man,” he abjured Mr. Gilfillan. “Beg pardon? That intruder of yours knocked me out. Seems to have affected my hearing? What was it you said?” Cowper replied with a shrill falsetto laugh, thereby surprising himself into an agitation verging on speechlessness. “ Knocked ’im—out—eh?” he quavered. “Serves you right.” He assumed a tone of great wisdom and patriarchal dignity. “ A fall comes once to everybody in life,” he pronounced wisely. Marion had been listening to this with a wide eyed gaze at the damaged Mr. Gil- fillan. To Cowper’s remarks she was deaf; to the business of the evening she was blind. Her senses were evenly divided between re- lief that Douglas was not dead, and solici- tude for his injuries. “ The brute!” she cried. “ Where is he?” “J don’t know. He left me asleep on spot marked with cross. I suppose he’s lurking about the grounds somewhere.” “Cowper! Do you hear that? Go find him!” | ‘“‘ Where?” he cried, and clutched the gun. “Has that gun another barrel?’ asked Gilfillan, pushing it away from his face. “You are ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. cs Yes.” “Then go and stand outside the door with it. at the door. You can’t do worse than break a few windows, then.” Cowper made a last pathetic effort to be supercilious about it, but he found circum- stances too much for him. “Go on. Do as Mr. Gilfillan suggests,” said Marion crisply. Cowper went. As he disappeared he was heard to mutter to himself. “ Mister Gilfillan!” ce Goo!” he muttered. If you see him, shoot—but shoot ‘* And now what?” asked Marion, turning | to Gilfillan. He seized her by the hand and led her like a little child across the velvet carpet of the grass. “We'll look for him by ourselves,” he said. ‘I’m anxious to see him again. [I think I can handle him if I can get an- other chance.” They disappeared into the obscurity of the garden side by side. XIV. AtictA AVERILL first discovered that her caller had arrived when he rapped sharply upon her window. Of course she hadn’t been writing letters; nobody ever does when retiring to one’s room to do so. She had been reclining upon a deep armchair with a book in her lap; and she had been thinking that this world is very cruel to people who fail to make a great deal of money out of it. Especially if they aspire to an acquaint- ance with the fortunate few. Then the rap came sharply upon her window pane, and she put the book down with no more break in the serenity of her composure than was betrayed in the almost imperceptible lift of one finely drawn eyebrow. ‘“ That’s strange,” she said. Again the rap upon the window pane. Alicia rose, placed her book upon her table, and without hesitation stepped to the window and threw it open. The man outside smiled upon her reassuringly. “This is scarcely what I expected,” she said. “ How did you manage to get there, Mr. Drayton.” 3A MUICLOOOL< (E@) (©)