Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 4 — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

506 was anotherman. This was a sailor indeed, with a kit-bag and his coat collar upturned, and he was listening to the older man- with an incredulous face. Carlotta Labat had never seen Mr. Pe- retti so excited, standing so straight, shak- ing his cannibal cane, and dropping from his package of sketch-board under his other arm a mountain or two without noticing them. She came and looked ue at them curiously. “Why didn’t you ever think, neg TY didn’t you ever believe?” “¥ didn’t want to see her, Peretti. When I did my time f just wanted to get away. I wouldn’t have been here now if the Jeanette hadn’t taken us off Swan Island, after the: wireless was wrecked in the hur- ricane, and dumped us here in port. [ tell you, man, I never wanted to see this town again.” “ But sie waited for you, Eddie—five years now.’ The bronzed young man was silent. stuck a big finger in the bowl of his pipe and leoked down at the little girl who “stared at him. ‘“ Five years—at Atlanta—on Daly’s evi- dence. It was Daly’s gang that got the stuff out of the warehouse when F was cus- toms inspector; and’ then they swore the job off on me. Five years old man, and three in. the islands—” He stopped and looked off over the gray roofs of the town as if visualizing again the loneliness. _ “Why didn’t you come back to her?” the old’ man demanded. care for all that?” _“T didn’t know—I didn’t believe—she’d : wait, or care—” ‘Oh, you don’t know ’em! She never believed the gove’ment’s case. She waited, and waited—jes’ like the hills, she said— eternal.” The old sailorman looked queerly upon the other’s obstinate chin and silent lips. “You wait, now,” he muttered. “ It’s your turn to wait, Eddie Bright!” Mr. Peretti arose stiffly and shuffled off across the grass, careless as ever, dropping a mountain from under his arm. And, see- ing this, Carlotta dashed after him. She He. ‘ What did she THE ARGOSY. came back to the stranger, who took no notice of her, seeming so lonely and so dis- turbed, until she placed the Peretti 'moun- tain upon his knee. ° “Did you ever see one yellow—like that?” “Eh?” He looked up, puzzled at the child’s question. ‘“Do you like mountains?” ‘“ Mountains? Oh, Fd like to see ’em! I’m gomg to ship out of here again! Pm going to. get so far away that no one can ever say I was the man that did crooked work for Jim Dalyf I’m gomg!” He uprose in some rougt bitterness, but suddenly the child grasped his sleeve. “Going away? And never come back no more?” “Never come back any more! She wouldn’t want me—old Peretti’s crazy! She wouldn’t wait—she couldn’t wait, that longt” “Come on!” the child cried. “ You can open the windows and make sunshine!” ‘“¢ Eh—what?” Tt ll just take a minute. Ther: you go away and never telf anybody and never come back no more!” He stared wonderingly at her, and then with an uncertam laugh followed her tug- ging hand in his. When they went through the arched stone court of the ancient tene- ment and up the stairs, he paused at the foot of. the ladder. “Come on! It’s all right. make sunshine, though!” He followed the adventurer upward. You got to There was a red murky light struggling through grimed windows when he had squeezed through the hole in the brick wall, but the stranger had not gone a yard before his meet tangled in some crinkly ue that carpeted the floor. He kicked it off and went to the Ss past a strange object that seemed swathes and sashes of cloth higher than his head. And seeing this he stopped and was still a long time staring at it. © “The old windows,” said the child. “Open ’em for us. Then you'll see!” But the young man cried’ out suddenly: “The silks! Say—are you Jim Daly’s kid?” 3 JOO (C(O) S (CCC)