Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

F f t ' ' DINNER FOR CYNTHIA. here, and she would be expected to dis- appear for a little—not the easiest thing to do in a two-room suite. Just now, however, there were crackers in the kitchenette and about half a bottle of milk—and, however much soul one might possess, it was un- questionably mighty near the conventional dinner time. So Nora laid aside her brushes and her palette and, with a tolerably gay wave of one hand in Billy’s direction, vanished into the trial-size kitchenette and closed the door. And William entered, one arm about his sparkling-eyed Cynthia, and Cynthia led him to a chair and palpitated: “You sit right there, and [ll fix my hair and get my hat and coat in just one shake! Isn’t it lovely out to-night, too? I opened the window a minute ago and sniffed the air, and I’m just champing—”’ ‘“‘ Well, don’t champ for a minute, sweet- heart,”’ William said oddly, and failed to sit down. “ What, Billy?” asked Cynthia, and paused on her way to the bedroom and was overtaken by William, who embraced her with: ‘‘ Dearest, would you be terribly disap- pointed if we didn’t go out to dinner and a show to-night?” “ Why—why, somewhat dizzily. ‘Because you won’t be, Cynthia, when you know why we’re not going!” cried Wil- liam, almost in a shout, and excitement and happiness glittered ‘in his eye. ‘“ But I—I shall be!” Cynthia faltered. “Think so, do you?” her beloved laughed; and now he did sit down and drew her to his knee. ‘‘ Well, when you’ve heard the reason you'll get up and cheer with me, honey. Jt has come!” ~ “What has?” “The big chance, Cynthia! every fellow gets just once, I guess. Horace Morton’s in town to-night.” ‘Who in the world—” “Ts Horace? Well, he’s the biggest thing in our line, Cynthia—and I’ve got just five minutes to tell you about him, and then [ll have to fly. I was going to phone, but I had to see you and tell you, face to face, darling. Cynthia, Morton’s works out in Billy?” said Cynthia, The one Old 173 Cleveland are shy one superintendent. They had a fight with the fellow who has held the job for nine years, and he left last week! What do you think of that?” “Tt doesn’t mean a thing to me,” said Cynthia uncertainly. ‘Tt will, two minutes hence. You know all the trick ideas I’ve been working up, this last eighteen months, to cut down costs and raise efficiency and all that? I’ve talked ‘em over four times now with Cameron, and just yesterday he said that they were fine and revolutionary, but that our plant’s altogether too small to make worth while putting them into practice; and that, in any case, the old man would have a stroke and expire if he saw all those changes in the works. I didn’t tell you about that last night, but it made me pretty blue. “Then, this afternoon along comes Cam- eron with his bombshell. The Mortons, it seems, are seventeenth cousins of his; and last night he told them about me, and my whole system seemed to make a big hit. Cameron’s a friend, Cynthia! Horace is staying at his brother’s house here in New York, and he’s going back on the ten o’clock train to-night. Well, Cameron won me a formal invitation to dinner, and if I can convince old Horace of just how right I am, between the soup and ten o’clock, the job’s as good as mine.” He paused and shivered. ‘“ And, Cyn- thia, the salary starts at—fifteen—thousand —dollars—a—year !”’ “ R-r-really?”’ Cynthia gasped. “Yes, my heart stopped for about half a minute, too, when Cameron first said it,” William laughed. ‘‘ But I guess my face didn’t show anything. He seemed to think T took it almost too calmly. So that’s that —and I’ve got it, honey—I know I’ve got it! If I can just get Horace and his brother alone for two hours and put my head ab- solutely on the job of showing ’em things as I see them, that job’s mine.” “ ?’m—I’m glad, Billy!” “You don’t sound so terribly glad!” Wil- liam submitted in astonishment. Cynthia caught herself and smiled. ** Well, I—I’d ever so much rather have you talking to me than talking to them, over your dinner!” she said. (C@) DOOKS (E@)