Miss Shumway Waves A Wand

Before I could make up my mind what to do they grabbed me. I waited until they began to twist my arms behind me, then I let them have it.

I wrenched one of my arms free and slugged the bigger of the two guys in the eye, then as the other swung at me I stepped close and hit him low.

That was as far as I got. Lew came up and slammed me over the head with his gun-butt. By the time I’d cleared my head I was sitting in a chair trussed up like a Houdini act.

Peppi was looking at the clock. “We ain’t got a lot of time,” he said.

“It’s not going to take me long,” Lydia said. She held a thin, sharp knife in her hand. She looked across at me. “You won’t have many dates after this,” she said viciously.

“Let’s be reasonable,” I said hurriedly. “You wouldn’t really want to do that to me.”

She held up the knife, then she came over. “You won’t feet it for a while,” she said, standing over ime. “I’ve done it before.” Her face was white and stony and I could see she was - getting a big kick out of seeing me sweat.

Peppi said to me. “Are you talking?”

“I’m talking,” I said, shrinking away from the knife.

“Where’s the plate?”

I gave him Harriet’s address.

“Let’s go,” he said to Lew. “We’ve still got ten minutes.”

They made for the door.

“Hey!” I shouted, “don’t leave me with this dame. She might start something.”

Peppi paused and smiled at me, “She will,” he said, “maybe you won’t be in such a hurry to double-cross me next time.” He looked over at Lydia, “When you’re through, tell Toni to park him in the river.”

She nodded.

“We’ll be back pretty soon,” Peppi said, and they all went out leaving me with Lydia.

I admit, right at that moment I was losing a lot of weight. I strained on the cords that held me but I couldn’t budge them.

There was a cold efficiency about Lydia that told me she was going through with this.

She was batty, of course. As crazy as a bug, but that didn’t help me.

“Well,” she said, “we’re ready to go. All you have to do is to sit still. I’m quick and it won’t hurt for a few hours, anyway,” she chuckled. “Then it’ll hurt plenty.”

I believed her.

She came over and twined her long fingers in my hair. I rammed my chin on my chest so she couldn’t get at my face.

“Don’t make it difficult,” she said, pulling at my hair. It scared me to feel how strong she was.

I braced myself and kept my chin down. She kept pulling and it felt like the top of my head was coming off.

“Damn you!” she said suddenly and touched my ear with the knife.

I jerked away with a yell and the next second I was staring up at the ceiling with the knife hovering a few inches from my eyes.

Then the door burst open and Arym marched in.

Lydia released my hair and stood away. Arym stared first at me and then at Lydia, and I could have hugged her if I’d been free.

Lydia was the first to recover, “What do you want?” she said in a flat, sullen voice, “go away!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Arym demanded, her eyes flashing. “What’s happening, Ross?”

“She’s going to mask my face,” I said feverishly, “it’s an old family custom.”

“Is she?” Arym laid her gloves and bag down on the table. She took off her hat with deliberation. “Not so long as I’m standing on my two feet,” she said.

“Get Out “Lydia said furiously, “you’ve no business being in here. Go upstairs and wait for Peppi. He wants me to do this.”

“He’s mine,” Arym said, moving towards Lydia. “No one touches him but me.”

Lydia went for her with the knife.

I yelled a warning, but it wasn’t necessary. Arym was quite capable of taking care of herself. She simply vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Lydia stopped in her rush with a startled scream. She looked around the room, her knife held ready and her eyes wild.

Just behind her a large vase containing flowers suddenly floated off the table. It shot high into the air and descended on Lydia’s head. She flattened out on the floor and the vase flew in a hundred pieces.

“And that’s that,” said Arym’s voice.

Invisible hands gathered the flowers into a bunch and laid them on Lydia’s chest.

“She only lacks a wooden overcoat,” Arym said, suddenly reappearing. “But I haven’t time for that now.”

I felt unnerved. “I just can’t get used to your tricks,” I said, staring at Lydia with morbid fascination.

“Didn’t you like that little exhibition?” Arym asked, not without pride.

“I thought it was swell,” I said, “but I can’t stand a lot of it. Look, sweetheart, will you untie me?”

“Oh, no,” Arym said firmly, “I want to talk to you first.”

“But we haven’t time,” I said desperately. “Peppi’ll come back any minute.”

She shrugged, “I couldn’t care less about that,” she returned, putting her arm round my neck. “I can do to Peppi what I did to her and think nothing of it.”

“Arym, you must let me loose,” I said feverishly, “I want you to do something for me.”

“I know,” she said, “but you’re going to hear what I want first.” She sat on my knee and began fondling my ear. That’s a thing I can’t stand, but I wasn’t in the position to tell her so.

“You’re going to marry me.”