Adventure, November 1915 — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

The Scarecrow bare existence; but the stranger was evi- cently a person of resource, for he inter- rupted with: “Well, if I can’t look for rubies, I’ll look for orchids. There’s a bit of money to be picked up in it if you know anything about them.” A big gong boomed somewhere on the hillside above them, and the shriek of winches and rattle of rockers instantly droned down, to be replaced and completely drowned out by an indescribable clamor of voices in twenty different languages, yelling and shouting like schoolboys at recess, ~ wrangling over their tools, and screaming to each other over the general uproar as they poured into the main road to the native vil- lage. A few minutes later a noisy crowd surged into the barroom—overseers, inspectors, tallymen, and others. As the higher offi- cials of the company had their club to which they resorted, so, in that land of class dis- tinction and snobbery, McNair’s Hotel bar provided a meeting place for the em- ployees. to a side table and sat unobserved by the boisterous crew except for a casual glance here and there. The crowd was well used to his kind, and passed him over with tolerant disregard—all save one joud-mouthed individual with a purple face and swinish eyes, who from his over- bearing manner was evidently a leader in his coterie. He had already absorbed as much liquor as was good for him before coming in, and he was now looking for some- thing to sharpen his wit on. The unfortu- nate stranger was a gift from heaven. “What kind of a scarecrow have we got this time?” he began, while his followers grinned in pleasurable aticipation of amuse- ment. The stranger looked up quickly and, as there was obviously no reply, flashed his habitual smile. The liquor in his tormentor was ready to flame into anger at the least provocation, and the smile irritated him. “What are you grinning at, you tramp?” he demanded. “Aw, let him alone, Allen; he ain’t hurtin’ anybody.” The remonstrance was enough to fan the bully’s smoldering passion, and he wheeled on the speaker. . ka THE seedy stranger took his drink 93 “What in ——!” he began, and entered into a loud altercation. The landlord took advantage of the diver- sion to slip around to the stranger. “Ye’d better gang awa, laddie,” he warned anxiously. ‘‘Yon’s a muckle loon, an’ he’s speerin’ for trouble.’’ The prospective victim looked up quite undismayed. “No sirree,”’ he replied easily. ‘This is the first drink I’ve had in a week, and I’m not going to be scared away by anybody.” The big bully heard the concluding words, and they seemed to him a direct challenge. “Ho, you ain’t, ain’t you, Scarecrow?” he snarled. ‘“‘We’ll see about that.” And he advanced on him. The stranger rose swiftly and moved to- ward the door, and some of Allen’s cronies set up a shout of derision, but he wasn’t going out—he had merely moved to where there was more space. » He was still smiling, but there was now an ominous tightness about the lips, and the more discerning of the loungers at the bar ‘noticed that, though he was not above me- dium height, there was a depth of chest and a lithe swing to the shoulders, with a look of alert confidence in the eyes that betokened a man who, in spite of his seedy appearance, had not altogether fallen through the bot- tom. They saw that he was not one to relinguish his rights «without a fight, and pitied him accordingly. But all such nice distinctions were lost on the big alcoholic, who advanced belliger- ently, growling: ‘You ain’t going to get scared away, Scarecrow? Well, Dll scare you.” With that he seized the other by the shoulder to thrust him out at the door. Then it all happened so quickly that no- body knew exactly what had passed. Allen felt a hard drive in the diaphragm which brought his head forward with a jerk. The spectators saw a ragged coat- sleeve describe a short arc in the air. There was a sharp sound like billiard balls meet- ing, and the bully crumpled boneless to the floor. . The stranger finished his drink, thanked the landlord and went quietly out at the door before any one had recovered from his astonishment sufficiently to speak. The. landlord was the first to find his voice. He was hopping with joy at the fall of the idol. IOOK (E@)