Argosy, Vol. 85, No. 3 — page 129: what you’re looking at

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

“IT WAS WAR.” — That hardly melted our hearts or took the rebellion from our faces. Von Hilber- stein’s lips quivered a little, and his eyes blinked as he held out his hand toward Louie, who happened to be nearer him than I was. “T’m so sorry,” he uttered a trifle thickly. ‘I’m afraid I haven’t even made you understand that. this wasn’t a pleas- ant duty.” We gave him our hands. Sondhow we felt better to have him go that way. But a more cheering sight than his somewhat relaxed back was the appearance of his pretty cousin at the end of the gangplank as he was about at the top of it. The baron undertook to bar the way. ‘“‘Look here, Vetterchen, you can’t go aboard there any more,” he said sternly. “Who said so?” she returned impu- dently. “Why—I did,” he tried to reply with dignity. “Well, just stand there a second and T’ll show you you're talking from a wrong steer,” she told him. ‘I not only can go aboard that -yacht, but I’m going.” ‘“ But, Vetterchen,” he argued, “I can’t have my discipline overridden completely like this. I’d hate to have to punish you in any way, but—) “You bet your grandma’s daguerreo- type you’d hate to. I’d make you hate it worse’n a fight with a buzz-saw. And, look here, my sweet Cousin Heiney! You said yourself, a lot o’ times, I’ve saved this” whole outfit from windin’ up in a series of Dutch acts. Any time you want to see that little serial show start, just try but- tin’ your discipline into my goin’s and comin’s. You get that?” He seemed to get it. He let her pass. The pert grin had faded from her face, and most of the color, as she got to the deck. I had to forego the idea that she was coming especially to console me. She addressed herself to Louie. Aboard, she hurried us across the deck, and then made sure none was near enough to listen to what she had to say. “Look here, you,” she snapped into 471 Louie’s face — “‘me and Rudy want to know if there’s sand enough in you an’ Harry here to take a long chance.” ‘“Chance?” Louie repeated slowly. “On what?” ““ A chance on beatin’ it out of here to- night. Me and him has been doin’ some figurin’ up there in the tower. An’ we’ve got the dope out that it’s one in a hun- dred now, mebbe; but it won’t be one in a thousand after to-night. “That power squadron thing has got Heiney, and it ’ll get some of the others harder than him. Besides, to-morrow they'll be a double guard put on here, which won’t help none. So— make up them minds of yourn without stoppin’ for bastin’s. Are you game, or ain’t you?”’ “But the engines won't go. Our elec—”’ “T got all you need for your electricity hid in my clothes right now. An’ I got some pills that ‘ll put them guards asleep iz they can be got to take a drink apiece. An’ Rudy’s handlin’ the buttons on the mine-field. It ‘ll mean a couple o’ shots from the battery, mebbe; but Rudy says It “ll be a devil of a job to hit you when you get goin’ at the speed you got. “It’s a chance—a lot o’ chance of your bein’ able to get over the anchored mines. But it’s a heap better chance than you’re likely to get again. Are you on, or ain’t you?” ‘We're on,” both of us whispered, and added a quaking — I guess.”’ “It’s no guessin’ about it,” she warned again. ‘“ You got to go through it—or go to hell, I reckon.” “We're on,” we decided more firmly. “Then show me a stateroom where I can get some of the plugs and switches out of my dainty apparel. An’ get your crew lined up somewhere below, so’s we won’t lose no time on the instructions stuff. The tide’s at eleven to-night. It’s then or never for youse.” As we left her at the top of a compan- ionway that would take her straight to the door of our spare stateroom, Louie and I looked up into each other’s face. comicloool C©