Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 114: what you’re looking at

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

740 Bob roused up belligerently, as if once more to rush to. the defense of his friends; but before the words came he paused, struck by a sudden recollection. “ By George!” he muttered, running his hand up through his hair in a puzzled way. “ There’s something mighty funny about all this. Did you say,” he interrogated sharp- ly, “that this oil-drilling camp was only set up yesterday morning after daybreak, and that after a few shacks had been knocked together and some apparatus set up no further work was done? I see it all now.” He hardly waited for her nod of affirmation. ‘Oh, what a boob, what a triple-plated boob, I’ve been! But just wait till I get back.” She did not doubt from his words that he had let himself be trimmed. “Ym afraid, Bob,” she shook her head pityingly, “that by the time we/’get back you won’t find them anywhere around. That kind of people don’t linger long after they have made their haul.” : “They'll be there,” he said. ‘ There’s a paper they want me to sign, and they’re so sure of me that— But here I am, chat- tering about unimportant things,” he in- terrupted himself, “and you look all in. Wait until I browse around and see if I can’t forage some breakfast for us. Then while we are eating you can tell me how you escaped from those scoundrels.” As he spoke he was hobbling over to his wrecked machine, and after a little explora- tion he came back with the thermos bottle of coffee and the package of sandwiches which Northrup had wisely induced him to take with him. The hot coffee was just what the girl needed, bringing back the color to her face and overcoming her exhaustion. “Well,” she resumed her story, “ Per- kins and Van Carpen could hardly have been out of sight before the men began pulling down the shacks and breaking camp.” “Of course.” Bob grinned wryly. “ The sucker was satisfied. There was no further use for it.” ‘“‘ By sunset,” she continued, “ we were rady to start. As before, I was put in the back of one of the trucks and covered over ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. with an old blanket. But there was this difference. I now had my wits fully about me, and also by constant rubbing and twisting I had managed to loosen one of the knots that bound my hands. By the time it was dark I had my hands free, and then of course it was short work to untie my feet and get rid of the blindfold. “The next thing was how to make my get-away. I decided to emulate the little red hen of the old nursery story, who when captured by a fox, waited until he sat down to rest, then pecking a hole in the bag in which he was carrying her off to his den, got out and slipped a stone into the bag in her place. “Very cautiously so as not to attract the attention of the driver, I gathered enough articles from around and underneath me to make a sort of a dummy under the blanket that would pass for me. “Then watching my chance until we had just topped a rise and started down the other side, so that I would not be observed by the driver of the truck next behind, I dropped out at the back and rolled quickly to the side of the trail.” “But, good Heavens!” Bob gave a shiver. “If you had been stunned by the fall, or twisted your knee, or anything, that next truck would have run over you before it could have been stopped.” “T knew that, but it was the risk I had to take. The most thrilling moment, though, was when I lay there at the side of the trail in the bright moonlight, as the line of trucks passed by, expecting each second to be detected. “* However,” she concluded, “ not one of the drivers noticed me. Then [ lay still, scarcely daring to breathe, until the line of trucks was about a mile away, when I got up and ran. I had no plan. My idea was to get as far away from the trail as pos- sible. I wandered all night. Then I saw the wing of the plane sticking up, and came to you.” “You must be half dead,” said Bob ten- derly. ‘“ Now, do you know what I am going to do? I am going to make a sort of shade out of this airplane wing to pro- tect you from the sun, and you are going to get under it and go to sleep.” COmicloooks (C@