The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig: A Novel — John Shaqi
The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig: A NovelPhillips, David Graham
General
The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig: A Novel
Phillips, David Graham
Adventure stories; Fiction
The girl's face cleared instantly, and all overt signs of strength of
character vanished in her usual expression of sweet, reserved
femininity. "Bring him to-morrow," said she. "A little late, please. I
want others to be there, so that I can study him unobserved." She
laughed. "This is a serious matter for me. My time is short, and my list
of possible eligibles less extended than I could wish." And with a
satiric smile and a long, languorous, coquettish glance, she waved him
away and waved the waiting Jackie into his place.
Arkwright found Craig clear of "Patsy" Raymond and against the wall near
the door. He was obviously unconscious of himself, of the possibility
that he might be observed. His eyes were pouncing from blaze of jewels
to white neck, to laughing, sensuous face, to jewels again or to lithe,
young form, scantily clad and swaying in masculine arm in rhythm with
the waltz. It gave Arkwright a qualm of something very like terror to
note the contrast between his passive figure and his roving eyes with
their wolfish gleam--like Blucher, when he looked out over London and
said: "God! What a city to sack!"
Arkwright thought Josh was too absorbed to be aware of his approach; but
as soon as he was beside him Josh said: "You were right about that
apartment of mine. It's a squalid hole. Six months ago, when I got my
seventy-five hundred a year, I thought I was rich. Rich? Why, that woman
there has ten years' salary on her hair. All the money I and my whole
family ever saw wouldn't pay for the rings on any one of a hundred hands
here. It makes me mad and it makes me greedy."
"'I warned you," said Arkwright.
Craig wheeled on him. "You don't--can't--understand. You're like all
these people. Money is your god. But I don't want money, I want
power--to make all these snobs with their wealth, these millionaires,
these women with fine skins and beautiful bodies, bow down before
me--that's what I want!"
Arkwright laughed. "Well, it's up to you, Joshua."
Craig tossed his Viking head. "Yes, it's up to me, and I'll get what I
want--the people and I.... Who's THAT frightful person?"
Into the room, only a few feet from them, advanced an old woman--very
old, but straight as a projectile. She carried her head high, and her
masses of gray-white hair, coiled like a crown, gave her the seeming of
royalty in full panoply. There was white lace over her black velvet at
the shoulders; her train swept yards behind her. She was bearing a cane,
or rather a staff, of ebony; but it suggested, not decrepitude, but
power--perhaps even a weapon that might be used to enforce authority
should occasion demand. In her face, in her eyes, however, there was
that which forbade the supposition of any revolt being never so remotely
possible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account