Adventure, August 3, 1919 — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

4 er" ge me 7 4, * Pg r 154 to the men in the car. “And, when you get out here, I’ll tell you where Steamboat’s b e en ” . From the car next to Steamboat’s a voice now spoke—Memphis Joe’s voice, coming from the doorway. “Am that you, Mistuh Agent?” “It is,” answered Andy. “Get the boys all out, Memphis, and bring ’em here. Nobody’ll get hurt.” A joyous whoop came from Memphis, and in a second he and the other men in his car tumbled out, arriving on the ground as soon as Steamboat’s crowd. From other cars steel gangers did likewise, whooping as the word spread. They gathered to- gether near where Andy, Carrick, Quinn, Steamboat, Caney and the other officers stood. Quietly now, perceiving that some strange thing was happening, the Belham men and Big Noonan edged nearer, lining up on one side of the agent and his party, while the colored men lined up on the other. a “YOU men have been easy marks— Valy suckers!” said Andy, addressing SS himself particularly to Steamboat’s wondering, rather sheepish-looking half dozen. “Steamboat’s been making you play tricks for him—tricks_.so he’d get the good things and you’d get nothing. Did you know that, George?” “Whut you-all mean?” nervously said George, a tall, rangy buck. “Why, you know how Steamboat’s been blowing he was going South this Winter with a pocketful of money. But he hadn’t got his pocketful. Today, though, he must have learned some way that I was expecting a package of cash on this evening’s train. He decided that was just the cash he wanted. “So he got some booze, managed to get you fellows worked up and finally got a good-looking .riot started. Then, while you men did the fighting, he sneaked down to the station, broke in, found the money and tried to set the station on fire. The fire would be blamed on the riot, see— and his theft of the money would be covered up. But I happened to be in the station, and Steamboat came to grief!” A stir—as of resentment—was visible among the half-dozen. ““Fo’ Lawd’s sake, Steamboat!” said George. “Am that right?” — But Steamboat made no answer. He ney righ “Sure, it’s right!” declared Andy. “Look at him, and you can tell for yourselves, And, of course, you don’t know what the money Steamboat tried to swipe was for, do you, George?” ‘ No, suh,” answered “Well, I'll tell you. mga money that’s to be used to pay the steel gang men tomorrow. That’s the kind of man Steam- boat is. He was going to take it all, and you fellows wouldn’t have got any—not tomorrow, anyway. You'd have to wait several days Jonger until another pay- roll was fixed up.” This time the wave of resentment that swept over the steel gang was not confined to the men from Steamboat’s car; it went over the entire crowd, and there was a muttering of imprecations and threats. Seeing their bad-man subdued, the rest of the gang felt emboldened. But Andy had turned away from them fora moment. He faced Big Noonan and the Belham men. “You see how it is, Noonan,” he said. “This Steamboat man here is really the only one to blame—and we'll get rid of him. He prodded on a few others, for the reasons. I just gave. But most of these colored men didn’t want any trouble. One of them came to me just before train-time tonight, told me he was afraid Steamboat was trying to stir up something and asked me to do what I could to stop it.” “Yd say you did what you could!” boomed Big Noonan. “You certainly stopped it!” “Hurrah for Andy!’’ called several of the Belham citizens behind Noonan. And three cheers were given; exuberantly. And then, to the embarrassed agent’s confusion, they were echoed by the steel gang side. But Agent Andy kept his wits. He faced the colored men again. “And, now that the fuss is over and you’re going to get your money tomorrow, the railroad wants all you men to stay!” he cried. “All but See haa that’s been making all the trou you full of lies about the See sear and trying to scare out— t of pure devilishness. You stick with the railroad, Ste ¥ ks.com are they'll see that you’re kept warm— — :