Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 4 — page 141: what you’re looking at

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

FIXED BY GEORGE. upon Miss Woodbury’s epidermis; . more than anything else, just now, she resembled some strange, new kind of white savage in .full war-paint. And sharp and self-contained as the stranger had been when dealing with George, the painted lady certainly sent a visible shock through him. He emitted one small cry; he thrust his head forward and squinted, as if unable to believe his own eyes. == | _ “You—you’re not Miss Woodbury?” he gasped. ; ‘““T am—Miss Woodbury,” barely man- aged to pass the lady’s lips. ‘“Good—gad!” the gentleman said; and then he laughed, harshly and with infinite scorn. .“ I’ve been fooled, have I? What can a woman like you possibly know of—”’ He stopped again and stared at George. “See here, Dare!” he cried. ‘‘ I—I’m very confused! J—” It was mere truth, of cdurse. The gentle- man stared again at the painted.lady and once more at George. thing was beyond his comprehension. He gazed into the dining-room, with its table set for two, and frowned; he turned and stared into the living-room. ‘“ Poole!” he shouted. And on the couch the girl stirred quick- ly. She sat up. She winked rapidly and incredulously at the stranger in the door- way—and now she had wriggled from the couch and she was dashing to him. She had, in fact, thrown her arms about his neck as she cried: “Father! Dad! Dad, I—I thought I wanted to marry him! I—don’t want to marry him!” ‘“ Marry—Poole?” gasped the stranger. “Yes! Yes! I thought I did! I don’t! I—I loathe him! He has a wife! His wife’s standing there, and—” “Wait!” ‘‘ And he never told me, dad! He never even hinted at—at that! He—took me everywhere—he always seemed so wonder- ful, and—he isn’t! He’s horrible! He brought me to that woman’s house, and—” _ “Stop, Angela!” commanded Angela’s father, and the quiet in his voice, which should have been soothing in a spot where One saw that some- - 611 quiet was so much needed, sent a quick lit- tle chill through George. Miss Starr subsided, gasping. The cold rays from her father’s eye settled on ‘Dy. Poole. “Infatuation!” he breathed. ‘‘ We _spoke of infatuation only this morning, did we not?” “This isn’t—” ‘“And this is the advantage that you, a man and a physician, have taken of a girl’s infatuation,” the still, dreadful voice went on. ‘“ You brought her sere!” ‘“‘ So far as that actual fact is concerned, yes,” the doctor said hoarsely. “ You brought my daughter to.a house of this character!’ Starr repeated, and his hand dropped into the pocket of his rain- coat. “T knew nothing of the character of the place! I—” The gray rays shot at Miss Woodbury for a terrific instant and then back to Dr. Poole. ‘“T don’t know whether it is accident, Poole, that you should have done this ghast- ly thing just when I had been summoned here. It may possibly be that. It may be that the girl had been dragged into a horrible plot, with blackmail as its object and that you have had the supreme daring to make me a witness to my own daughter’s shame. But I do know that you have brought her to this house, Poole.” “ But you can’t possibly believe—” the doctor cried. “And that’s enough!” Starr snapped, very grimly. ‘“‘ After seeing the woman of the place, all the words in the world cannot explain away the fact, Poole. Well, you’ve picked the wrong victim! I grew up where every man was his own law, Poole, and I don’t come to mysterious houses unprepared. If you want to pray, pray fast!” And, impossible though it might be, there whisked from the gentleman’s rain- coat pocket a pistol—no wicked, refined little automatic affair, but a long, dark, old- fashioned six-shooting messenger of quick destruction! Down its muzzle one could have dropped a hazel nut; upon its hammer _ Starr’s thumb rested lovingly! (S| QO) mn NOOK