Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 65: what you’re looking at

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

-y one—the little girl in green!” “ Mofie—for God’s sake!” cried Joan. “ You don’t know what you're saying!” , “ Don’t I>” he responded, taking hold of the back of a chair for support. And his voice came slowly, clearly, with great de- liberation. ‘I am saying that Katherine Kendall killed him! / saw the whole thing!” CHAPTER IX. HEAVY, HEAVY HANGS OVER HER HEAD. HERE is something reckless, some- thing abandoned, something lawless and barbaric about jazz. Under the spell of it, Katherine found herself gettmg on very well, laughing, swaying, flirting devilishly. There was color flaming in her cheeks now, and her eyes danced—those strange eves of hers that had a trick of changing color with the gown she wore. They had been blue-black at dinner, half closed, languorous. They were green, now, and had odd lights in them. Like the lamp that flares up with added brilhance just before it burns out, she was shining with a radiance that had never been hers before—but it was a radiance that had 2 new daring in it. Stuyvie Nettleton, who had known her for years, and had never been particularly attracted to her—he preferred the more naughty and generous beauties of the re- gion west of the avenue—came up to-night to beg for a dance; and as she nodded and danced off with him—for to-night she re- fused no one—he whispered in her ear, his lips brushing her cheek. “What is it? You were a bud until to- night! ‘To-night you have bloomed into a rosé—a tea rose with a crimson heart—and a Sweetness that is simply overpowering!” She smiled. - To-night,” she whispered back mys- teriously, “ F have come to realize how im- mnent death is—and that life is short— and I have been wasting time.” "So now you are going to live?” he _ asked, his heart beating faster, the hideous publicity of a public trial—and she thought oF i ing draft that she had obtained from ~ old family dector after endless persuas and the employment of all of her wiles— that sleeping draft that he had warned — her might prove fatal if she took too much But Nettleton had not the vaguest con- ception of the dark thoughts that flashed behind her reckless glance. Holding her closer, until he could feel the wild beating of her heart against him, he breathed with difficulty. ‘“ There is so much that I could teach you—about livmg,” he whispered. “Is there?” she asked, leading him on. And the music throbbed, and screamed, and beat wildly. It was easier to be quite mad to music like that. ‘* You see,” he went on boldly, “I have lived so much longer than you. I have sought for happiness along so mamy roads. I can save you a lot of vain pursuits. And all of my experience is yours to command!” “It must be the glamour of hell he feels about me,” thought Katherine, but she did not say it: instead, she said: ‘“ Strange—you have known me almost since childhood, and you have never asked me to dance before!”’ “You have never been like this before,” he answered. “ Until to-night you have been a pretty child. To-night, you are a woman, palpitating with life and the joy of living, thrillingly alive and real, human —my kind. I have often vaguely felt that this side of you must exist and might be brought out; but I have never had energy enough to try experiments. So I just wait- ed. .And now—some one else has tried— and succeeded. If it was Guy da Costa I shall be grateful to him forever.”’ His name tumed her cold. She could not answer. ae i “ Not that it matters,” went on Nettle. “All that concerns me is- sl diy capi ves lg age , a e F = e ton suavely. that some one has wakened the sleey beauty—with a kiss. And she wants m comicbooks.com