Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 170: what you’re looking at

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

By CHESTER PORTER BISSELL E and Joe Brinkley cashed in on our M royalty at Mexia soon after the liquid insanity gushed over the der- rick, and then it was when we found a lot ef clauses in our contracts which we were not aware existed. We donated most of it to the public-spirited bank and buckled the re- maining three or four thousand apiece in our belts and betook ourselves to the tall and uncut timber where we went into con- sultation on the immediate future. “T opine,” says Joe, “that each of us having a few thousand of the iron men with a flapper on one side and a buzzard on the other, it behooves us to get a small shack and retire to winter quarters, and see if we can find time to look over the vicissitudes of life as she stands?”’ “A well-spoken bunch of nouns and verbs,” says I. Whereupon we proceeded to deposit our passports and credentials in the stronghold of San Rio, where they have a real pretty little sign on the window printed in gold leaf, “‘ Deposits Guaranteed.” As all our bills of lading were signed up by the Treasurer of the U. S. A., the main squeeze of the bank put us down in the big book of general as- sets. We acquired a few hundred dollars’ worth of household implements and general warfare; started a grocery bill and began te pick up the threads of life, which had been lying dormant for some time. A few days later Joe comes in about the usual time we start in on our hash recipes and domestic science. ‘“} find the general atmosphere of this town of Rio rather sociable. Have had a confab with the town’s foreman of the vigi- lant committee, and while he demands no past family pedigree nor proofs of birth, he gives me a few pointers as to the future.” ‘“ Does he grant us a permit to inhale the wonderful ozone of Texas?” says I, as I re- moved the husks from some hen fruit and pitched the insides into the hash crucible. “He do,” says Joe. “He explains the status of things in and around these envi- rons, and I find a good many little technical matters which we were not fully conversant with. Do we want citizenship in these dig- -gings with or without the dengue?” ‘‘ Do the best people have it?” says I. “Tt seems so. It’s very popular, so I told 796 COMmicloooks (C@