Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 101: what you’re looking at

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

SOFT MONEY. fused to attend a party because she would be present. Well, they were quits for her share in the feud. Now she would like to captivate him, fascinate him, ensnare him, just like a movie vampire, and when he knelt plead- ing at her feet, she would get even with him by spurning him. But in order to bring him to that pitch she first would have to meet him, and it didn’t look as if. there were much chance of that happening dur- ing the voyage, the way things were going. When the ship reached Plymouth he would go one way, she and her mother an- other; they would probably never meet again. Somehow, she did not like the idea of this man wandering through the world hating her for the rest of his life, for no reason at all that she couldn’t explain away in two or three minutes of a personal in- terview. And then she saw Howard. The beam- - ing smile with which she greeted that self- satisfied young man threw him into a state of rapture. A few minutes with her the day before when she was in a mood of re- sentment with Mary and himself had not prepared him for the delight of her smile. He had been meditating finding Miss Pot- ter-Dunlap and condoling with her upon her mother’s losses, but he changed his mind with great rapidity. “Good morning, Miss Thomas,” he greeted her. “ You are a great help to life on board ship, the way you look this morning.” “ “Really. I don’t think I look any dif- ferent than usual.” “Then it’s the sea air that makes me think so.” “Tt’s very nice of you to speak to me after what you and Mary Norman and Mr. McGarry must think of me.” “Oh, that was just a little misunder- standing. I could have cleared it up in a minute if you or Rod would have given me half a chance.” “JT presume you and Mary think I com- plained about him to the captain.” Howard looked a bit embarrassed. “ Why, er—it wasn’t any of our business to think about it all.” ‘Mary made it her business. She has crossed me off her list of friends. But I want you to know I had nothing to do with it at all, I was perfectly horrified when the captain told me what he had done.” “TI knew you wouldn’t have wanted him shut up for a little thing like that. The old captain just went ahead and used his judg- ment, what?” ‘“T never spoke to the captain at all. It was mother.” “Oh!” exclaimed Howard. “TI see it all. Mothers always take these things too seriously. Well, don’t let’s worry about it. Rod is loose again. The old chump says he won’t come out now that he is allowed to, but this fine weather will drag him out. He'll be all right. Let’s you and I take a walk around the deck. It only needs some- body like you to make it the happiest walk of my life.” “How extravagant you are,” she smiled, falling into step beside him. “ But the whole affair was the most miserable series of accidents that ever happened. Of course, Mr. McGarry has a right to feel huffed, but don’t you think if I were to explain things to him he would see them in the right light?” “You could explain anything to me, but how are you going to explain the way you froze him up the first day out.” “T can’t explain that, but after all, it wasn’t anything, and it simply happened because I was so surprised. I intended to apologize to him after he saved me from falling downstairs, but he just glared at me when I approached him.” “That must have been just after he was pinched,” grinned Howard. “ But then I wrote him a letter explain- ing everything and he never answered it.” “He never told me anything about that. Now, Rod isn’t spiteful, he couldn’t carry a grudge, or he would have thrown me over- board for some of the things I’ve done to him.” “And the captain offered to give a spe- cial party for him to-night and I offered to come. Do you know he refused to accept the invitation from the captain because I was going to be there?” ** Something else he didn’t tell me. Say, you’ve done enough. Let the old bear sulk. © (ECO AMIE JOOKS 251 (E@)