Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 81: what you’re looking at

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

SOFT MONEY. carried conviction. She had assumed a man was anxious to make her acquaintance, It appeared that he was the victim of an acci- dent. She had pointedly and unmistakably insulted him. - What must he think of her? And as she remembered their original encounter, his remark was a boyish en- thusiasm which might have been addressed to any one. Supposing he had not been taken with her appearance at all and had not been trying to make her acquaintance. She had been vain enough to think so, and now it appears that he had not wished to follow it up. She had made a fuss out of the merest trifle. Gertrude had been brought up to think pretty well of herself. She had been trained to guard against familiarity from strangers. But in this case she seemed to have been a conceited and presumptuous little idiot. Probably the man was laughing at her vanity in assuming that he was anxious to know her. Mary read what was passing through her mind as if her forehead had been glass. “Tt looks to me as though you had been unfair to Mr. McGarry,” she said quietly. “In the matter of the deck chair, it seems that I was,” admitted Gertrude. “ But it was a natural error on my part because he had spoken to me early in the voyage.” : “ All he said was that the statue of Liberty was a fine girl,” flashed Howard. Gertrude rose with considerable hauteur. ‘Then you have been discussing me be- tween you,” she said with heat. ‘‘T didn’t know it was you. He told me that he was excited about sailing and made some remark to a person who stood near him, and it happenedto be a girl who turned around and demolished him.” ‘He considered it amusing, I presume.” ‘“T should say not. He was sorer than a pup. Said he wouldn’t speak to that oirl again if they were the last couple in the world.” “Ir. Campbell, you shouldn’t repeat such silly words,” said Mary. “T am very glad he did. It is the first time I have been the subject of discussion between men. I trust it will be the last, Good night, Mary.” . 231 Gertrude retired in good order. Mary gave a vexed smile. “My, but she’s difficult. Imagine her making all that fuss about nothing. And pow she’s thoroughly ashamed of herself and she wouldn’t admit it for worlds.” ‘ She’s some peach,” murmured Howard, following the retreating figure with a de- vouring look. “ You men make me tired. A pretty face can’t make up for a disposition like a crab apple.” ‘There isn’t anything the matter with her except she’s a swell headed little kid. And she'll get over that before she’s very } much older. Imagine her thinking that poor old Rod laid a plot to get his deck chair beside hers. Even if he knew enough to think of it, he wouldn’t do it. tiger bites you once, you keep away from that tiger. Let’s you and I go for a walk on deck. There’s a moon and everything.” Mary threw a wrap over her bare shoul- ders and they made an exit. Gertrude was sitting alone in her state- room. Her mother was listening to the music in the social hall. Her cheeks burned with indignation and shame. What a monu- mental fool she had made of herself, and what a double-dyed idiot she had been to confide in Mary. The pair were undoubtedly laughing at her now, and pretty soon Mc- Garry would be told the story and he would laugh. Or would he? Somehow she did not think he. would. There had been a hurt look in his eyes each time, a look which had driven her to be more intolerable. She wanted to hurt him. Why? He had said that he would never speak to her again as long as he lived, and this was before she had come upon him beside her deck chair. If he felt so indignant then, how did he feel now when she had gra- tuitously insulted him. She would have liked to apologized for the deck chair incident, now that she knew that it was entirely a mistake. But how could she apologize to a man who wouldn’t meet her? One of the chief characteristics of the female sex is that they always want what they can’t have. Under ordinary circum- JOOKS (ECO AMICE When a (E(O)