Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 17, 1924 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

176 There was a finality to that last expres- sion, and Manse heard a click in his ear which indicated that the girl had hung up the receiver. He sat for a moment con- sidering the advisability of telephoning his father. Then he decided not to do it. He would wait until morning. He returned to the room where the men were sitting. “ Well, did you get the old man?” Flour- noy asked. “No, I did not try. I called up some- body else,” Manse answered. “Who was that?” somebody asked. “None of your business,” Manse an- swered in a surly tone. _ The men sat around for a while longer trying to get Manse to say something that would explain the events of the night. When he positively refused to talk, Flour- noy said: “T think we will let you go. It will be no trouble to find you when we want you, and we will likely want to talk to you to- morrow. Good night!” Without a word Manse arose and left <he room. CHAPTER VIil. LOST—A REPUTATION. HEN Manse had gone, Sheriff Ny Flournoy turned to Colonel Roone and said: , “ Somebody tried to rob the Proman home to-night. She screamed, and the neighbors ran to her rescue. They did not capture anybody, but they found a suit case. It appears to be the property of a member of your household. “ Let me see it,” Roone said. He promptly identified the bag and its contents as belonging to Lois Roone. “T don’t know a thing about it,” Roone said. ‘I will call Lois on the phone and ask her if she has missed anything.” Miss Lois answered the telephone call. “The sheriff found your suit case con- taining some of your nice dresses,” Roone told her. ‘ What about this?” _ “Where did he find it?” she inquired nervously. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “ He found it in the Proman home, where somebody tried to break in and rob Old Flounce,’’ Roone answered. This amazing information struck Lois speechless. She simply had too many things to think about at the same time. She could not see why Manse should take her suit case and carry it over to the Proman home and try to rob his old teacher, and then come back to her without the suit case and be caught while carrying the ladder to the porch. The incident chilled the very marrow of the girl. Before every maiden contempla- ting matrimony there is a* big question mark. She has read how men have be- trayed, how men have proved false, and at that critical hour as she approaches her own wedding the flags of terror easily wave in her eyes, and the slightest thing may turn her love to suspicion and great dread. At that moment she hated Manse as she never hated any one in all her pleasant, genial days. Colonel Roone’s voice spoke through the telephone: “ Hello! Are you still there?” “Yes, daddy, I’m still here. I’m think- ing. Please bring my suit case home with you. I'll tell you about it when you come.” Before Roone could answer there was a sound like a sob and the telephone connec- tion was broken. Roone entered the room where the men were sitting. “Tl take my girl’s suit case back to her,” he said. “I think we had better post- pone any further investigation until to- morrow. She says she has something she wants to tell me.” The men all parted at the door, and Roone got in his machine and went to his home. The girl met him at the door and they stopped in the reception room. Roone placed the suit case beside a chair and sat down, and the girl sank down on his lap. In a quiet voice she told him of her love for Manse Verdell, of their plans to elope that night, of his taking her suit case and disappearing from the porch, and she had heard of him no more until he telephoned her from the courthouse when he denied that she gave him the suit case and said he knew nothing about it. 1A .TOO CONMUC (C@