Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

MOONING AMONG MOONSHINERS. “ How come you ain’t had anything to eat for two days?” “ Paw, he ain’t come home,” she said, caught off her guard, and then ripped out, “What the hell business of yours what I eat?” I saw I’d have to go mighty slow if I was going to solve this taffy-headed, muddy- toed, human enigma, so I filled my pipe and lazied back, watching her clean up a bit. She was uncommon spry and clever. When it seemed safe I asked: “Where’d your paw go?” ‘““ Where he’d get booze, I reckon,’ she answered, kind of sorrowful like this time. ‘““Lawd knows what he wanted to for, with all he’s got.” “ All he’s got?” I questioned, getting interested. The hint started my mind back to “ Moonshine Medicine.” ‘Some folks never did learn to mind their own minding,” she said, waxing sar- castic instead of being snappy. “‘ What’s bitin’ on you? You wantin’ a drink, your- self, I suppose.’ ‘“ T could use one,” I confessed. “Yes, and then you’d use a few more and pretty soon paw’d have to hustle back and start the still going so’s to satisfy his own cravings.” Her voice sort of tapered off and her eyes got even bigger than they naturally were. She saw she’d made a bad break, because right afterwards she started in cussing in Cracker White talk about fellows that al- ways came butting into business that didn’t concern them. As for me, I was busy thinking about those two well preserved cabins out by the clearing. I was as familiar as most any- body with the river and even I hadn’t known anybody lived in the back of this old beer hall. It was easy guessing where that still must be. I seemed to have hap- pened into a moonshiner’s dump at a most auspicious moment—when he wasn’t home. “And you a-setting there, a-wishing you could put your snoot into some of the nasty stuff, too. You, what looks like such a respective sort I even ’vited you in to sup- per. You’d like to be making a human he-hog out-a yourself, too, just like that worthless paw of mine.” The girl was 665 winding up some long tirade to the start of which I hadn’t paid any attention, being kind of hypnotized with fond fancies of what might be. I was making up my mind those dreams was sure going to come true, when she went on: ‘“‘T wish there warn’t no more of the aw- ful stuff in the world, nohow.” “ There ain’t, near as I been able to find out in tireless investigations,” I suggested mildly. ‘“ There’s enough to ruin my life. Some day when that worthless old man goes away I'll starve to death, ’cause I can’t go to the neighboring blacks to beg food. I’m white and I’m proud, even if my feet is dirty.” I hadn’t been conscious that I was look- ing at her feet every little while, but I sup- pose [ had been and she had noticed. Those feet fascinated me; they were small and dainty, in spite of the mud and dirt; seemed sort of to fit her small, dainty body. I was all ready to dodge the frying pan, which I figured she was going to swing at me, when all of a sudden she sat down on the box that served for the other chair, put her arms on the table, her head on them and began to There was a fine fix for a young bach- elor. Married men are used to sudden twists like that, so I’ve heard, but me, gee, I was helpless as if ’'d had a baby to feed and dress. I smoked a minute or two, trying to figure it out and then I decided she was just a kid and that was the best way to go at her. I don’t know how it happened, but in a minute or two I had her on my lap and was petting her head and telling her that I wished there wasn’t any booze and that I’d find a nice place for her and her paw to live where there wasn’t any hooch or any chance for him to make any. “He won’t never go while he’s got all that stuff out in the cabin.” She didn’t make any bones of telling me about it now. ‘““ And that damn still in the other shed to make more when he wants it to sell or drink hisself. I wish them things was in hell.” The cuss words showed she was perking up a little. I wanted to keep up the good work so I made a happy suggestion. “ Let’s go smash the booze and the fat- tory,” I says. CORMMICLOOokKs (C@