The Argosy for May — page 134: what you’re looking at

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

WHY GALWAY LOST HIS TEMPER. ° The situation was soon explained ; and, after a long search, the card-case dis- covered—empty. ‘You must have taken everything out of it, sir,’ said Prentice. “TI thought I did,” admitted Galway ; “but when I could not find the paper I wanted, I thought it must be here— but—do you mind telling me all the hotels you know with names beginning with “W’?” : Prentice looked at Galway in aston- ishment ; and, as they left the building, his sense of humor could no longer with- stand the incongruity of Galway’s former confident anger, and his present humility. After a quiet laugh, however, he sug- gested two or three, and then spoke of looking them up in the telephone-book. ‘Oh, I’ve done that,” cried the dis- tracted young man. “ Thank you for your kindness,” he had the grace to add. Slowly, and with a broken spirit, Gal- way returned to his apartment. As the clock struck the hour of seven, and he realized that somewhere in that great city the girl of his heart was waiting for him to take her out to dinner, the place had never seemed so desolate. “Dinner by himself.” The thought disgusted him. But, finally, as the same clock was striking the hour of nine, he realized that nature must be fortified ; and he rose to go out to partake of some food. He wanted lights and coolness—to get far away from his accustomed haunts ; and he took a car for a distant dining- place on the banks of the river. There were lights there a plenty; and quiet corners out-of-doors, where he could imagine himself sitting with Miss Alling—and he would be sitting thus, too, as soon as she called him up on the following day to hear his explana- tion. But he sat alone now, watching the lights on the river, and hearing faint- ly the low spoken words of the couples occupying the quiet corners. He had finished his dinner, and was about to leave for his lonely apartment, when he fancied he heard his name spoken. Yes, there it was again, and coming from one of the deliciously shaded dining-places. With some curiosity, Galway rose and walked in the direction of the sound. 9 A 321 There, sittings where just a ray of the electric lights fell upon her face, sat Helen Alling; and beyond her, in the darkness, a man. Without a moment’s hesitation, Galway spoke to her. “ You must have thought it awfully strange, Helen, that I did not call for you—but I lost your address, and—” .The girl interrupted him. “IT knew it was something like that, and waited till nine o’clock, when I called up your apartment on the tele- phone. It’s all right, of course—we can dine together some other evening — I wanted to tell you something—perhaps I can do it now—but first let me present you—” All eagerness, Galway bowed to the young man in the darkness, and turned again to the girl. “First of all, Helen, let me write down the name of the hotel where you are.stopping,” and he looked in vain for a paper on which to inscribe it. At last, crumpled up in his trouser’s pocket, he found a scrap and hurriedly drew it out. “It’s the Windmere,” said the girl— ‘“a new place; not yet even in the tele- phone-book, but awfully nice. And now let me tell you why I wanted to see you so much. You are my oldest friend in the city —and—and I wanted you to know of my engagement. This,” with a little wave of her hand toward the man in the darkness, “is the happy 79 man But Galway was looking at the slip of paper on which he had written the address. It was her note to him bearing her hotel telephone number, on the back of which was written the names of the three culprits of the afternoon. And then he remembered his consuming anger at the moment he had jotted them down —and the last name—was Prentice. The tall man came out of the dark- ness. ‘“T had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Galway this afternoon,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye. It was Prentice. “Good night,” said Galway, tearing into little bits the note he had received from Miss Alling. Then he hurried from the spot. MICLOOOLK (CO)