Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

interested in the notices,” he ‘I am,” Alice replied. ‘I like to look a man’s picture and guess at the crime he committed, then read the circular to see if l am right. You don’t mind if I look at all of them, do you?” ‘“‘ Not in the least.’’ She finished her inspection with what Harper could have sworn was an indication of relief, the same sort of relief she had shown after going through the graveyard. ‘Do you receive new notices often?” she queried. ‘Every few days.” “ May I drop in again to look at any new ones you may have?” Harper was only to glad to have Alice drop in, and said so. He accompanied her back to her office, then returned to his own, and again set himself to the task of solving the mystery of her appearance in Geyser. He knew there was such a mystery quite as well as he knew that Alice was in danger. No woman was safe in Geyser, least of all a pretty one who had antagonized the forces of evil. Her interest in the grave boards and re- ward notices was singular. Could it have any bearing on her reason for being in this town? Was he right in thinking she had shown relief after scanning al! the different names? He was almost sure that he was. Then there was the matter of her appeal to the workers in general to remember their friends and relatives back home. Her busi- ness was Certainly an odd one. Like a flash of inspiration, a possible ex- planation of all her odd actions came to _ Harper. Some relative or friend had dis- __ appeared, she suspected that he was work- ing on the railroad, and she wished to get in touch with him! TY. ‘ more Harper pondered his hypo- that her name and mission to every camp on the far- ion, and in that way ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. _ kindly expression was replaced by one that loved ones was really a plea to man to communicate with her. some one H “ dered what relation this hypothe a would be to her. Probably a lo husband; since she had aver him ks hor derstand when he proposed marriage, that her affection was already engaged. Harper winced a little at the thought, but there was no getting away from it. . She had examined the grave board no- tices to see if the name of the man she sought was there and was relieved when it wasn’t. She had scrutinized his reward no- tices, and had asked to see any future ones he might receive, for the same reason. She Was seeking a man and was leaving no stone unturned to find him. This was the only reasonable explanation of her presence in Geyser that Harper could think of. A few days later he went to the post office as usual and returned with some let- ters. In his office he opened them one by one. The first contained a Man Wanted circular. He read it in his usual manner and studied the picture of the wanted in- dividual in an effort to recollect if he had ever seen the person. He had not, so he pinned it on his wall beside the others. He opened and read two other letters, and as he opened the last one he saw that it, too, contained a Man Wanted notice. He looked at the picture first and noted that the wanted man, one Rodney Allan, was rather a handsome fellow, well dressed, evidently an office worker of some sort. Nothing unusual about that. Harper start- ed to read the description, and glancing out of the window as he did so, he noted that Alice Juno was coming toward his office. He read hurriedly because he wanted to get it pinned up before she arrived. The man was wanted for embezzlement com- mitted in the town of— Jim Harper gasped as he read the name Willowfield, Ohio. The place that Alice came from. In a flash of understanding the whole thing became clear to him. This was the man she sought—Rodney Allan, who was wanted for embezzlement. No wonder she wished to see every new one that was received. Harper’s big hand clenched and his usual ~ comicbooks.com