The Haunted Bookshop, Christopher Morley [best romance ebooks TXT] 📗

discomfiture in the overwhelming lustre of Miss Titania by the thought that she was, after all, the creature and offspring of the science he worshipped⁠—that of advertising. Was not the fragrance of her presence, the soft compulsion of her gaze, even the delirious frill of muslin at her wrist, to be set down to the credit of his chosen art? Had he not, pondering obscurely upon “attention-compelling” copy and layout and typeface, in a corner of the Grey-Matter office, contributed to the triumphant prosperity and grace of this unconscious beneficiary? Indeed she seemed to him, fiercely tormenting himself with her loveliness, a symbol of the mysterious and subtle power of publicity. It was advertising that had done this⁠—that had enabled Mr. Chapman, a shy and droll little person, to surround this girl with all the fructifying glories of civilization⁠—to foster and cherish her until she shone upon the earth like a morning star! Advertising had clothed her, Advertising had fed her, schooled, roofed, and sheltered her. In a sense she was the crowning advertisement of her father’s career, and her innocent perfection taunted him just as much as the bright sky-sign he knew was flashing the words “Chapman Prunes” above the teeming pavements of Times Square. He groaned to think that he himself, by his conscientious labours, had helped to put this girl in such a position that he could hardly dare approach her.

He would never have approached her again, on any pretext, if the intensity of his thoughts had not caused him, unconsciously, to grip the railing of the bridge with strong and angry hands. For at that moment a sack was thrown over his head from behind and he was violently seized by the legs, with the obvious intent of hoisting him over the parapet. His unexpected grip on the railing delayed this attempt just long enough to save him. Swept off his feet by the fury of the assault, he fell sideways against the barrier and had the good fortune to seize his enemy by the leg. Muffled in the sacking, it was vain to cry out; but he held furiously to the limb he had grasped and he and his attacker rolled together on the footway. Aubrey was a powerful man, and even despite the surprise could probably have got the better of the situation; but as he wrestled desperately and tried to rid himself of his hood, a crashing blow fell upon his head, half stunning him. He lay sprawled out, momentarily incapable of struggle, yet conscious enough to expect, rather curiously, the dizzying sensation of a drop through insupportable air into the icy water of the East River. Hands seized him⁠—and then, passively, he heard a shout, the sound of footsteps running on the planks, and other footsteps hurrying away at top speed. In a moment the sacking was torn from his head and a friendly pedestrian was kneeling beside him.

“Say, are you all right?” said the latter anxiously. “Gee, those guys nearly got you.”

Aubrey was too faint and dizzy to speak for a moment. His head was numb and he felt certain that several inches of it had been caved in. Putting up his hand, feebly, he was surprised to find the contours of his skull much the same as usual. The stranger propped him against his knee and wiped away a trickle of blood with his handkerchief.

“Say, old man, I thought you was a goner,” he said sympathetically. “I seen those fellows jump you. Too bad they got away. Dirty work, I’ll say so.”

Aubrey gulped the night air, and sat up. The bridge rocked under him; against the star-speckled sky he could see the Woolworth Building bending and jazzing like a poplar tree in a gale. He felt very sick.

“Ever so much obliged to you,” he stammered. “I’ll be all right in a minute.”

“D’you want me to go and ring up an ambulance?” said his assistant.

“No, no,” said Aubrey; “I’ll be all right.” He staggered to his feet and clung to the rail of the bridge, trying to collect his wits. One phrase ran over and over in his mind with damnable iteration⁠—“Mild, but they satisfy!”

“Where were you going?” said the other, supporting him.

“Madison Avenue and Thirty-Second⁠—”

“Maybe I can flag a jitney for you. Here,” he cried, as another citizen approached afoot, “Give this fellow a hand. Someone beat him over the bean with a club. I’m going to get him a lift.”

The newcomer readily undertook the friendly task, and tied Aubrey’s handkerchief round his head, which was bleeding freely. After a few moments the first Samaritan succeeded in stopping a touring car which was speeding over from Brooklyn. The driver willingly agreed to take Aubrey home, and the other two helped him in. Barring a nasty gash on his scalp he was none the worse.

“A fellow needs a tin hat if he’s going to wander round Long Island at night,” said the motorist genially. “Two fellows tried to hold me up coming in from Rockville Centre the other evening. Maybe they were the same two that picked on you. Did you get a look at them?”

“No,” said Aubrey. “That piece of sacking might have helped me trace them, but I forgot it.”

“Want to run back for it?”

“Never mind,” said Aubrey. “I’ve got a hunch about this.”

“Think you know who it is? Maybe you’re in politics, hey?”

The car ran swiftly up the dark channel of the Bowery, into Fourth Avenue, and turned off at Thirty-Second Street to deposit Aubrey in front of his boarding house. He thanked his convoy heartily, and refused further assistance. After several false shots he got his latch key in the lock, climbed four creaking flights, and stumbled into his room. Groping his way to the washbasin, he bathed his throbbing head, tied a towel round it, and fell into bed.

VI Titania Learns the Business

Although he kept late hours, Roger Mifflin was a prompt riser. It is only the very young who find