Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 13, 1925 — page 130: what you’re looking at

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

6U2 with her bands before her face, pressed tight to her eyes. She spoke slowly, brokenly. “When I heard—what he did—-the money he stole—wnen he told me that—lI ran away from him—for shame,” she said. “You don’t say so?” jeered Lem. “What money was that?” “What he—robbed—from you,” she sobbed. *‘ I knew he was—what he was put in jail for—but I didn’t—know—he’d rob his own—father.” “The hell you didn’t!” exclaimed Lem. ‘* Now look a here!—that don’t go down with me—for what else would he of taken the money for but to spend on your” * But—but—TI didn’t know!” she cried, lowering her hands from her dewy eyes and giving Lem a piteous, innocent, timid azure elance. He turned quickly away and caught a taint smile on Jules’s face. ‘What the devil d’you see to grin at?” he cried. “JY do not grin, my dear Lem,” returned Jules, ‘“‘ but smile a little at your bad man- ners and good ’eart. I shall go now and jetch a kettle, tea and food, for I am sure Miss Dora—nay, Miss Jeff, I am sure— will be better for refreshment.” He lit a candle, and with it in his hand left the room by the inner door. He was back in a few minutes with a small kettle full of water, a plate of bread and butter and a teapot. He found the boss still standing where he had left him, but now with a square of paper in his hand and a look of clouded uncertainty on his face. ‘‘Tlere’s their marriage certificate,” said the boss, dully. * Of course,” returned Jules, placing the kettle on the embers, pot and plate on the chess table, and bowing to Dora. “If you expected no marriage certificate you are very dull—a poor judge of character. Jeff might possibly overlook a small matter like zat, but not so zis lady.” Both the others were looking at him, the girl between narrowed lids and Lem with wide-eyed questioning tinged with doubt and surprise. He looked at the girl, and instantly the white lids lifted and a light of suffering and timid appeal shone upon him. J ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEERLY. She sat up and, with trembling hand, pro- duced another paper from somewhere about her slender person. This she extended toward Jules with piteously besceching look and gesture. But there was more in her Jook than that; and he proved it, strangely fascinated, as he accepted the paper. What he saw there was the fact that she had understood his remark concerning her character as irony. But that was not all. Could it be that she had the amazing nerve to ask him to think better of her, to accept her as what she was pretending to be to Lem? Could it be that she mistook him for such a halfwit as that? He turned his attention—and not without an etfort—to the paper in his hand. He im- mediately recognized Jeff’s copy book fist. He read it slowly; and, feeling her glance upon him, he kept his face still as a mask. “What's that you got there?” asked JLem, having at last exhausted the marriage certificate’s arsenal of emotional thrills and chills. | ‘* A confession of Jeff’s,” said Jules, with nothing in his voice. ‘‘ It seems zat she was not even aware zat Jeff ’ad attempted to be a bootlegger, according to Jeff’s writ- ten siatement.” ‘* Not until T heard he was in jail,” sighed Dora, honestly, tremulously. “IT knew then, of course—-before I run away with him-—because he told me. It was bad of me-—but—but-—~”’ Jules handed the confession to Lem, who perused it with an expression of growing horror and uncertainty and mental anguish. It shook in his hard brown hand. He blinked his eyes at it. He backed up and sank heavily into a chair, still holding the paper before his face. ‘‘\Iy God!” he whispered. ‘ No good. Worse nor I reckoned he was—for I blamed the woman, too. But he wasn’t even straight with her—even when he run away with her! No good—an’ never was!” “Do not feel so badly as zat!” cried Jules, striding over and laying a hand on Lem’s shoulder. ‘‘ What is zat? A piece of paper! It makes Jeff no worse zan you knew—for perhaps ’e was drunk when ’e wrote it. Yes, zat is it, you may be sure, my dear Lem!” DOOLK