Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 119: what you’re looking at

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

— A WITHOUT GLOVES. it all right, but it'll cost you somethin’. Can’t afford to practice law fer nothin’! Here I am up to my neck in work an’ have to leave off right in the middle of it, an’ go down to St. Paul. It’s expensuv busi- ness, Neely, but you come to the right man. It'll cost you two hundred, win or lose, an’ another five hundred on top of it if we win. The two hundred is payable now.” “ That’s all right, Jenkins,” answered Neely, reaching for his pocket. “Tl jest pay it, an’ MacAlister kin pay me later.” Mary MacAlister laid a hand on the boss’s arm, “Just a minute, Mr. Neely,” she said, and turned abruptly*upon Jenkins. “‘ What was it Blodgett has been telling you for the last hour?” she asked, ‘“‘ And how much is he paying you to lose this case for us?” Caught off his guard the man flushed deep red. a Why—why—Blodgett—him an’ I’s old friends—that is—we’ve knew one another a good while—I jest happened to see him settin’ there in the sleeper, an’ we set an’ talked fer a bit—that’s all—same as any one would do.” Piling biuff upon bluff, the girl shot an- other question: “And the check he handed you—what is the amount of it?” “The check—Oh, that! Why, that was a balance he owed me fer some work I done fer him a while back. I hadn’t never sent in no bill to him yet. They all come to me when they want a good lawyer.” For just an instant Neely glared at the other, then, as comprehension dawned on him, he reached forth a huge hand and literally swept the other from his seat and sent him sprawling into the aisle. “Vou git to hell out of here before I brain you!” he growled. “Go back an’ tell Blodgett about what a hell of a good lawyer /e’s got. We don’t need none.” As Jenkins, mumbling threats of prosecu- tion for assault, regained his feet and re- treated down the aisle, Neely turned to the girl: ‘You see, miss, what were up against. We don’t even dare to trust no lawyer. We've got to go it alone. But, what T can’t see is how you know’d he’d be’n talkin’ to Blodgett, and about Blod- gett givin’ him that check.” 589 The girl smiled. ‘In the first place I didn’t like his looks, nor the way he talked. Then I remembered that it had been an hour since he got on the train. If the business you had with him was important enough for you to telegraph him to join us on the train, surely he wouldn’t have waited an hour before hunting us up. There must have been a reason for his delay, and I figured that Blodgett was the reason. And if I was right, then Blodgett would have to pay him, and when I saw how insistent he was on collecting from us in advance, I though he would do the same with Blodgett.” ““ Well, you thought right,” replied Neely, grimly. “ An’ if you kin keep on thinkin’ that good, I guess we ain’t goin’ to need no lawyer.” He turned to MacAlister...“ I was right about bringin’ her along,’ he said. “ Where’d we be’n now if we’d left her to home?” Darkness had fallen before the train pulled into the station at St. Paul. In the glare of the arc lights Blodgett waited at the steps of the day coach. With him were two strangers. As Neely, carrying the MacAlister baggage, stepped from the car he was confronted by the two men. “ That’s your man,” said Blodgett crisp- ly. ‘ Arrest him,” One of the men showed a badge and laid a hand upon Neely’s arm. “ You’re under arrest, young feller,” he said. ‘ I’ll read the warrant.” “Arrest!” exclaimed Neely. ‘‘ What for?” “ Forgery, as charged in the warrant.” Blodgett stepped forward, a gleam of triumph in his eye. “Forgery, Neely, forgery. You signed my name to a check drawn payable to your- self after you had been discharged from my employ. Mr. Leonard, the present fore- man of my Number Eight camp, is a wit- ness to the crime.” ‘““ Crime—hell! It’s a dirty trick to keep me from testifyin’ a = ” cried Neely, glaring from Blodgett to the group -of his paid witnesses who stood grinning in the background. “That'll be about all out of you,” said oO EOMmIGboOoks.co