Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 13, 1920 — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

THE PICTURE ON THE WALL. | finally you must have come, I’d have waked up. How dreadful not to have known the truth until too late!” She had grown so excited that he tried to soothe her with commonplace words, but she put them aside. “I can’t understand,” she rushed on; “ it’s from being with you that I’ve realized what it would mean all my life to—to be with him.” She began to sob, but he knew they wefe tears of happi- ness. ~“Tt’s all over now,” she gasped between long breaths, ‘‘ and spring is here. ‘ That’s the way I think about it: spring is here— and you. To-day has been so beautiful— such wonderful colors, and odors of earth and grass, and the shadows of first leaves flickering so faintly on the ground, to and fro. You'll think me a foolish girl who doesn’t know her mind, but this is the way I think of it—the engagement is , ended and spring is here. ‘There'll never be such a wonderful spring as this spring. I owe it to you, you wonderful, handsome deliverer!”’ She gazed up.at him through shining eyes. ‘ Yes, and I can see how glad you are, too, Mr. John Warring, though you think it for my good and for your own dignity to appear neutral! It’s like a man not to say a word to show how happy he is. Yes, you ave happy; you can’t hide it! But father mustn’t know, not just yet.” She went on breathlessly to explain. A letter had come evidently containing im- portant news, for her father, visibly moved and without revealing its nature, had de- clared that it would be necessary for him to absent himself from home ‘for at least a week. Since he had not left town for a year and, before John’s coming, had not been considered strong enough to leave the house, the announcement that he meant to take the midnight train for Chicago had met with serious remonstrance. Because his vitality had been almost miraculously re- stored there was no question of his fitness for travel; but the business letter had so manifestly proved disturbing that John con- curred in Lucia’s opinion: no other trouble should be heaped upon his mind—and it was certain that he would regard the broken engagement as a serious trouble. S070 After the evening meal, which in Lagville was invariably “ supper,” Mr. Warring in- vited John to a conference in the room where so many of his days had been spent in bed. The elderly gentleman was plainly nervous and decidedly sketchy in what he sought to communicate. His purpose _seemed rather te convey impressions than facts. Through everything shone love and pride in his “son,” but with this was min- gled something dark as of a dread -imper- fectly realized. His journey was necessary in order to put to rights some of his lumber- yard affairs which he had supposed in per- fect condition. ‘I want your help, my boy, and I’m * trusting you to give it without asking ques- tions. There are some things I cannot un- derstand, yet if I tried to explain, my words might cause you to misunderstand. Be- cause I doubt if affairs are always dark when they look dark. Perhaps the difficulty is in our eyes, eh? If we can’t see clearly, is it the other fellow’s fault if we think his nose crooked?” He rubbed his shock of gray hair and his lips moved without speech. Then: “ It’s hard to get at what I want to tell you. Yet in justite to others you must take it with- out details. Maybe.I’ll find it easier to show you—”’ *. He went to a landscape painting hanging opposite the light, felt behind the canvas and produced a tiny key. Then he crossed the floor to an old-fashioned leather trunk which stood directly opposite the bed. The key was not meant for the trunk, for it was not only unfastened, but stood ajar from some defect in the lid hinges, showing a crevice of at least an inch between its iron- rimmed jaws. : “This trunk,” he said, “is supposed to contain nothing but old letters and sou- venirs of my happy married life. Photo- graphs and love-tokens. Look out in the hall, John, and find if Simmons is anywhere about.” John found the hall deserted and came back to look into the trunk which, without its tray, showed a wild ‘confusion of yel- lowed envelopes, pale-inked notes, fading photographs, bits of ribbon and other drift- age of past years. (E(0) oe ye) ;< (E(9)