The Argosy, Vol. 90 No. 1 — page 161: what you’re looking at

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

WITH THE BEST ‘‘What happened?” the girl asked anx- ° ‘“‘ Did—was there anything wrong. iously. with the locket?” “ Anything wrong with it!” laughed mirthlessly. ‘‘ Oh, it’s you again! Is it? So you stood by to watch the re- sult of your. little joke! You know very well what was wrong with it. Why on earth did you play me such a shabby trick?”’ “Then she detected the difference!” Nella gasped. ‘I didn’t think she could. I certainly had no intention of playing a trick on you. I thought—” “Detected the difference!’ the soldier cut in savagely. ‘‘ Of course she did. How could she help it. Anybody who wasn’t color blind could see at a glance that black hair wasn’t red.” “ But .it wasn’t black hair,” the girl pro- tested with a frown of bewilderment. “It was auburn—the same shade as her own. I cut it from my own head. You can see yourself that there isn’t much difference. And I—I thought I was doing you a good turn. That was my only motive in buying that other locket. I couldn’t find the lost one, so I bought another just like it and put a lock of my own hair inside. I didn’t suppose the substitution would be noticed.” Blandish regarded her with astonish- ment. “ Is this a lock of your own hair?” he demanded ironically, thrusting the little gold case into her hand. Nella stared blankly at the fragment from Rover’s glossy coat. Then suddenly the truth dawned on her. . ‘““ My aunt must have done it!” she ex- claimed. “I met her coming down-stairs from my room as I came from the tele- phone. I recall now that there was a queer look on her face. I’m so sorry.” She looked at Blandish sympathetically. “Is the engagement broken?” ‘Smashed to pieces,” he groaned. ‘ She wouldn’t listen to any explanations. When she opened the locket and caught sight of that black hair it was all up with me. She told me she never wants to see or hear from me again.” “Perhaps if I went to see her I could straighten things out,’ Nella suggested. The man OF INTENTIONS. 155 “I’m afraid it wouldn’t be any use. She wouldn’t believe you. However, I suppose it wouldn’t do any harm for you to try it. She lives in Hastings—boards with some friends there, but I guess you’d better not go to her home to-night. Give her a chance to cool down and see her at the office in New York, in the morning, if you don’t mind. She works for a man named Syl- vester Barnes, and—” Nella interrupted him with a sharp ex- clamation. “¢ Sylvester amazement. “Yes; that’s her employer’s name. She’s his private stenographer. His office is in the Produce Exchange Building. I don’t think it will do much good, but if you care to go to the trouble of calling on her ‘tto- morrow and explain matters to her, I should be much obliged to you.” Nella went down to the Produce Ex- change Building the next day. She felt that it was the very least that she could do to make amends for the trouble she had caused. Barnes was not in his office when she arrived there. Neither was his stenog- rapher. The office boy informed her that they had gone out together about an hour before. The fair widow and her employer re- turned presently, and a frown came to Barnes’s face as he recognized the visitor seated in the outer office. “You, Nella!” he exclaimed, a trace of a sneer in his tone. ‘ This is indeed an unexpected pleasure.” ‘““T didn’t come to see you,” the girl in- formed him coldly. ‘I came to call on this Barnes!” she echoed in lady.” “Indeed!” Sylvester arched his eye- brows. ‘‘ That’s surprise number two. I aidn’t know that you were acquainted with my wife.” “Your wife!” “We were married fifteen minutes ago at the City Hall,” the:man announced, with a fond glance at his bride. ‘‘ You are the first to hear of my good fortune.” Nella kept herself in hand until she reached the street. Then she gave way to an uncontrollable burst of laughter. comicbool< CO