Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 1, 1922 — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

860 herself and just aloud. “‘ All sorts of fancy ways they take to cover up their little— boh! ) And she considered Myra with her hard eyes and murmured: “ Brazen, too! Hoh!” There was some ground for this, Miss Carson’s expression considered. Doubtless it was an odd expression, for Miss Carson’s thoughts were moving with the utmost rap- idity. Bit by bit, as the strange night passed, they were permitting ber to piece matters together and at least approach an answer. It might be incredible, his reputed wealth considered. It was a long way from impossible; a man with eyes like West- ford’s was potentially capable of absolutely anything! But possible or incredible or anything else, Westford seemed to be at the root of the thing. Westford was the vene- rated “he” of her original hosts. As for the rest of it? At the moment she was not interested in the finer details. Most of Miss Carson’s days had been spent in radiating sunshine; but there is a certain quantity of rage stowed away somewhere within the sweetest of us, and her whole supply was trying to make the surface to- night! Plain, cold fury comsumed her at the indignities which had been inflicted on her. It was a very unpleasant eye that met Dr. Warner’s as he entered and set about her release. “Couldn’t have believed it possible— positively, I could not have!” he stated, as he worked leose the knots at Myra’s wrist. “Now, will you —er—raise your head, please, and permit me to undo that filthy rag. Thank you!” He turned to the elder - woman. “ Mrs. Hodge! The young lady’s —er—ankles! Will you free them, if you please?”’ A tiny smile twitched down one corner of the lady’s mouth as she obeyed. The towel came out of Myra’s mouth and the pale Warner smiled nervously and ingrati- atingly. “ There, Miss—ah—”’ “My name is—Carson—Myra Carson,” the captive submitted, with more than a little difficulty, as her abused lips moved again. “Carson, to be sure,” said the doctor. - ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “Mine is Dr. Wamer—not a physician, by the way. Mining expert, I’m supposed to be. I—er—I—er—”’ Further than this he seemed unable to go at thesmoment. His vague, pale glance moved in the direction of the elderly wom- an, and he started and frowned and lost some of his pallor as he caught the extreme canniness of the light in her eye. “ Er—Mrs. Hodge!” said he, with some assumption of dignity. “TI think you may return to your room now, if you will. The excitement, I am sure, is over.” The lady arose with a small grunt, smil- ing until the one corner of her mouth seemed on the point of curving down around her jaw bone! “Very well, sir. I’ve no wish to stay here, Heaven knows!” the lady stated, as she shuffled cut. Her steps mounted slowly. Dr. Warner conskiered Myra with swiftly growing per- plexity.. Myra merely faced him steadily with an entirely inscrutable stare. A num- ber of startling ideas were taking shape in her young brain; several of them were wild and senseless as the evening itself, but one at least she felt to be perfectly sane and sound Se they remained until a door slammed far above and the doctor cried explosively: “Upon my word, I think you’re—you're the most remarkable young woman in the world!” ‘“¢ Compliment?” “Eh? I—I’m blest if I know what it is!” the scientist stammered. ‘“ I—you see, I’d expected an outburst, of course — an outburst of rage and—ah—protest and all that sort of thing. You—you say noth- - ! ” “ Tt seems to me,” Miss Carson said cool- ly, “that you’re the one who should be saying a good deal, right now!” “In—in the way of apology?” ““ That’s a rather mild little word for a thing like this, isn’t it?” The doctor opened his lips, and closed them again. There was no very masklike quality to his countenance; watching him casually, one could read what passed in his mind quite accurately. Here, it seemed, was a young woman to be handled with the comicloool C©