Argosy, Vol. 85, No. 3 — page 106: what you’re looking at

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

448 THE Before Brooke realized what he in- tended to do, Raymond stepped past him, and seizing the knob and handle of the safe, gave: them a violent pull simul- taneously. The door swung open! “Wow!” ejaculated Bates, with a tri- umphant grin. “Is the inside door un- locked?” It was unlocked. Flinging it back, he hurriedly investigated the interior, which obviously contained nothing but the scat- tered law books and papers. He turned on Harden Brooke ac- cusingly. ‘Where is it?” he demanded. ‘‘ There is no jewelry in this safe. And, by the Lord Harry!” he shouted, “this com- bination knob is nothing but a bluff!” CHAPTER VII. LETHA’S ENIGMA, [ ETHA SEVERLY was not sorry that Marcus Tolman came at four o’clock, instead of five, as he had said he would. School had been dismissed, and the girl was sitting at her desk, lines of perplexity between her perfectly-arched brows and a far-away expression in her eyes, when he knocked at the door. Then she saw that a horse and buggy were outside her window, and she recog- nized it as the property of the black- smith in the village. ‘Come in!”’ she called. Tolman smirked at her confidently. Then he struck what he felt was an easy attitude. Leaning on a desk with one hand and crossing one yellow shoe ele- gantly over the other, he fanned himself with his straw hat. “ My appointment was for five o’clock,” he reminded her. ‘ But I borrowed the rig you see out there, and got here ahead of time. I saw the children leave, so I ventured to knock.” He waited for a response, but she did not speak, and he continued, briskly: “As a lawyer, it is my custom to come ARGOSY. directly to the point. What is your an- swer? Will you pay me a thousand dol- lars for that will? It will give John Landon the farm, and make your sister comfortable financially for the first time since she married him.” The reply came short and sharp: 6¢ No.”’ For a moment he appeared to be dum- founded. Then he asked, with osten- tatious meekness: ‘““T beg your pardon, Miss Severly. Are you authorized to decline my offer?” Ts Yes.” | ‘If she could have expressed her cen- tempt more forcibly than by answering him in monosyllables, she would have done so. A look of ratlike cunning sprang into his little eyes, spreading slowly over his whole visage. ‘Ah! You ave authorized?” he said smoothly. ‘‘ Then you must have seen John Landon since this morning?” She saw that he was trying to trap her, but there was no sign of trepidation as she returned coldly: ‘‘ There is nothing else, I believe?” He moved toward the door. “Only that it was part of my offer to quash the Philadelphia charges against John Landon, alias Claude Miller. Don’t forget that.” She did not reply, and, with his oily smirk in full working order, belying the malice in his shifty eyes, Tolman walked out. Through the window she watched him drive down the road until he reached the bend which would take him to Bellsville. Then, locking the outer door, she opened _the one belonging to the little room, and spoke to her brother-in-law, without let- ting him come out. ‘You are quite sure of what you told me this morning?” she began in low, dis- tinct tones. ‘‘ The man who came from the window of the farmhouse gave some- thing to the other one who was waiting?” Hugging himself together with a shiver of vague terror—he passed a limp hand CO DOOK AMUC C©