Page:Weird Tales Volume 3 Number 1 (1923-12).djvu/70



HE veranda of the Country Club commanded a wide sweep of rolling wooded hills and neatly cropped fields, of twinkling water and gleaming sails. As Henry Adams Oakes paused in the doorway he thought it had never looked so lovely. A sharp tussle at tennis, handily won, a shower and as near a drink as the House Rules allowed had left him in a peaceful and receptive frame of mind.

The prospect seemed ill-fitted to treason, stratagems and spoils, but his eye turning to the nearer scene he discovered, at a table in the choicest corner of the veranda, "The Triple Alliance"—three maids fair to look upon, whose smiles belied their sinister reputation in the matter of male heart-strings. His mother, with the primitive instinct for protecting her off-spring, was wont to remark that what made them dangerous was their practice of hunting in a pack, so that the quarry had less than a Chinaman's chance for his life. Mr. Oakes, however, did not content himself with sniffing the battle from afar, but promptly went over the top in an attempt to break their line.

Welcomed wihwith [sic] the zest due to their lawful prey, he deftly conveyed the idea that he had room for one passenger in his runabout, and would be charmed if they would detail one of their number to fill it. And, to forestall any prolonged debate and heartburnings, he suggested that they match coins to determine the winner. He said "winner" also "heartburnings," by way of a preliminary bombardment, to break the enemy's morale.

In any contest of mere wits he must have been hopelessly outclassed, but much practice in training camp and dug-out had given him a certain manual dexterity and speed which the ladies lacked. Once again he proved that the hand is quicker than the eye. Thus he made sure of Margaret Winthrop for his passenger, though it was quite