Pulp Fiction, 1943 · page 25 of 116
12 Sports Aces, January 1943 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains story prose from "The Red-Light Express," a hardboiled crime pulp fiction. The narrative follows a character named Sweeney as he visits a hospital to check on someone named Rock, who has been injured in a hit-and-run accident. Sweeney encounters Buzzy Barnes being escorted away by police, learns that Rock is in surgery, and discovers conflicting accounts of the accident. The page ends with Chapter V, beginning a new scene involving a confrontation between the "Raiders" and "Hawks," while Sweeney remains preoccupied with Rock's condition and an apparent threat from someone called Angel.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE RED-LIGHT EXPRESS 23 © 6 1000s O os Ger Ger Gon Ore Sar Gor Gor Ger Ore Per Wer Ger Ser Ber Serre Ore Ser O Grr Orr Ore Ger reer See Orr Orr Ge Per re Oer Breer Ber Orr Orr Ors Oe Pr Gir Ger Orr Gers G rr Bee Ber Bes Wer Oro Orr Orr Grr O++Or-Oeo © kid. The trouble is you’ve got too many cards stuffed up your sleeve, Madden. One of these days a card is going to fall on the table face up. I hope I’m around when that happens.” The cab wheeled to within a block of Sweeney’s destination. There, Sweeney was half tumbled out of the cab. “T’ll remember to send Rock flowers,” Madden jeered. “Tough it had to happen that way.” WEENEY walked one block straight ahead and turned into the hospital entrance. The lobby was crawling with newspapermen and people anxious to know about Rock’s condition. Sweeney wanted to go up and see Rock. The girl at the information booth said: “I’m sorry. They’re operating on Mr. Gurnsey. It’ll be a couple days before you can se2 him.” The sweat dampened on Sweeney’s forehead. He sat down and began squirm- ing with the others. The elevator came down and three men stepped out of it. Buzzy Barnes was in the middle and on each side of him a husky gent gripped his arm. “T tell you a tea kettle hit him,” Buzzy was exhorting. “It hit Rock and kept going. I seen it with my own eyes. So did Harrigan, but he won’t admit it was a tea kettle.” “Yeah, yeah,” the gent on Buzzy’s right snapped impatiently. “So it was a tea kettle, so what?” Buzzy spotted Sweeney and tried to force his way toward him. But the strong- armed guys yanked him back into line. Sweeney stepped in front of them. “What's it all about?” he asked. “Take a look for yourself,” the husky said. “The guy’s wacky.” He flashed a badge. “This is no place for him to make noise. Okay, fella, move. You’re in the way.” Sweeney watched them whisk Buzzy out onto the street. He stood there, star- ing and befuddled. Buzzy had been his one big hope of pinning Bo Madden in his own dirt. He had leaned on that hope since talking with Buzzy on the telephone. But apparently, Buzzy’s battered mind had slipped a couple of notches in the ex- citement. Gone was the last shred of hope. Behind Sweeney a newspaperman said: “Too bad about Buzzy. Rock’s been a great guy to him since he got busted up. The shock must have done things to him.” A lone reporter was yawning in the lobby when Sweeney turned an anxious, inquiring glance at the gir! in the infor- mation booth. Again she shook her head negatively. There was no definite word on Rock’s condition. Sweeney had learned what details there were from the report- ers. A hit-and-run driver had banged Rock at a lonely cross-section of the city. Buzzy and Lew Harrigan had been with Rock at the time. The driver’s mistake was in fleeing from the scene. Rock him- self had stepped into the path of the car against the light. That was Harrigan’s story. ... Beside Sweeney a voice said: “There’s a train to catch, pal. I think you ought to be on it. I wouldn’t give An- gel a chance to throw any more salt over his shoulder.” - “The hell with Angel,” Sweeney said hotly. “He’ll have plenty of chance to slap his spades at me.” - CHAPTER V HERE was a chunk of ice the size of a rock that had supplanted Swee- ney’s heart when the Raiders went into action against the Hawks two nights lat- er. He could think of nothing but Rock and of the vicious movements of the hand that had struck him down. And now that hand was pointed at Sweeney. Sweeney had no way of knowing that in this off- guard moment the jinx hovered over him, ready to strike and complete its circle. It was evident from the first clash of sticks that the drive and zip had gone out of Sweeney’s game. Sweeney picked up a loose puck that an up-ended Hawk for- ward surrendered. He laid a pass down the right alley to Nails Hearne racing for the blue line. It was wide and wild, but the centerman went diving headlong for it. A Hawk icer tried to make the inter- ception. He had it and lost it to Happy Holliday. Happy whirled in on the goal. EOPMICLOOO© S (C@