Phil Rushington's Search, or, The Unknown Rider of the Ring — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

20 “What d’ye mean by lettin’ him out an ’ demanded Reddy, furiously. keepin’ me in? no answer, but turned and Xush made walked away, leading bumpers by the arm. “You've been badly treated, have you, Bumpers?” asked Phil, halting after they had passed around the circular wall of the tent and placed themselves out of sight of the Cale. “Well. I should smile, cull! This is the I gets invited into a wagon to First worst ever! take a snack out of a bottle, and bang! thing I knows I'm inside a cage, with no means at hand for gettin’ out. That’s kinder tough treatment, boss, ain’t it, now?” “Rather rough, that’s a fact, yet hardly as rough as you were being treated when the cage door was locked on you. Strange that a man should invite you into an tron cage to take a drink with him, say nothing about his taking a sudden notion to strangle you.” “Gee! Say, boss, he jest got me in there to strangle me! His invitation for me to wet iy whistle was only a bait. I was a fool for risin to the fly, but I did, an’ you saw what | got for it. Next time a duffer offers me a drink of whisky I'll call the police. You played it rather low down on me, boss.” “That’s a fact—taking your story for it,” “Mebby you'd like to square yourself with me by givin’ me a job?” “Are you a good hypnotic subject, Bump- ers?” “You mean was I ever hypnotized ?” “That’s what I mean.” “Nope—never had no one try. ’ma phys- ical wreck, though, an’ a horrible example, so [ ought to come easy. Want to try ?” TL OSE “Then open the throttle an’ give her the sand. I’m ready. When ye git me fixed, jest gi’ me the idee that I’m a millionaire, an’ don’t never wake me up. Are you ready?” “All ready.” DO AND DARI W EERKLY. “’Then—then—wait a minute! What am J - goin’ to get out o’ this—a job?” “T won’t promise it. I want to see what I] can do with you.” “Make it another quarter anyway, will yer | “I'll do better than that, Bumpers. [’}] make it a dollar.” | “That takes me right off my feet, boss. Go ahead. Be quick about it, ’cause I’m afraid ye'll change yer mind.” ‘Look at me, Bumpers!” The tramp shifted his bleared eyes to a line with Phil’s. Phil gave him a steady look and began making passes in the air. The young showman was no novice in the art of mesmer- ism, as the readers of this library may re- member. Once he had mesmerized Walt and his cousin Mary, and had all kinds of fun. Now, however, he was seeking to turn his powers to a more profitable use, and he was glad to find that Bumpers was even a better subject than Walt had ever proved. Finding himself “going,” the tramp made a feeble effort to break from the thrall that was swiftly chaining him, body and mind, to the young showman’s will. “Look at me!” commanded Phil. “Fix your eyes on mine, Bumpers! You can’t get away from me, you know you can’t.” And neither could he. A few more passes and Bumpers was completely hypnotized. “Are you up to your old tricks, Phil?” asked Dora, suddenly appearing on the scene and eyeing Rush in puzzled. wonder. “IT am trying an experiment, Dora,” an- swered Rush, never taking his eyes from his subject. “What kind of an experiment ?” “I can’t explain now. ‘That boy whom I hired to take Eona’s place this afternoon is over by the band chariot. Please go and get him, and then quietly follow wherever this tramp and I may go,” 900ks.com