Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 156: what you’re looking at

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

626 “Kid,” said I, “you simply gotta go through with the fight to-night. Every- thing’s all set and we can’t call it off now.” The Kid went right on puttin’ on his gloves. ** You know how I’m fixed now,” he said. “T told you I’m done with fights, and I meant it. I wouldn’t go into that ring to- night for a million bucks.” “But think of me,” I said. “ ¥ ain’t got time.” ce But—” Just then a flunky came up. “Your car’s in front, sir,” he said. ‘‘ Thanks,” said the Kid, and handed the flunky a buck. “ So-long,” he says to me, and strolls off, Two thirty in the afternoon and the fight was to be that night. It was all off. _I didn’t know what to do. I figured if f told them at the Garden I’d get in bad for Waitin’ till the last minute to do it, and if I didn’t tell °em I’d get in worse. I made up my mind to beat it out of town. Then I unmade it. I wasn’t ex- actly crazy about the idea of runnin’ away. T musta walked around the block about forty-two times, tried to eat some dinner, couldn’t; then wandered over to the Gar- den. It was pretty late by then, and the first preliminary bouts was already on. tf walked around to the dressin’ rooms and run into Red. I wanted to baw! him for keepin’ me from puttin’ ’em wise, but I didn’t have the heart. The poor cuckoo was as worried as | was. He kept pacin’ up and down and lookin’ at his watch. = “ Almost time for the main bout to start,” he said. “Veah, but it never will,” I replies. “The Kid will never come near this joint. He’s forgot there was ever such a thing as a prize ring; it means curtain for me all right. Ill never get another fight here. Tl. be lucky if I get away alive.” “Tt does look bad,” says Red. Just then the door opened and in walked the Kid, “ Gimme a lift,” he says tome. “ I gotta go on in a coupla minutes.” Was I knocked silly? Ill say I was. Here was the same bozo that had told me that afternoon he was all through with prize ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. fights throwin’ off his clothes and gettin’ ready to climb through the ropes. But I didn’t have time to do no wonderin’. I was too busy fixin’ the Kid to go on. They were just gettin’ ready to announce the main bout. Dolan was already in the ring and a minute later my battler was in there with him. Of course, you know what happened. The first three rounds were all Dolan’s. The Kid was in bad shape because of the way he had broke trainin’, and it was only his grit that kept him on his feet. But in the fourth round he began to find himself. The fourth and fifth was about even, but in the sixth the Kid cut loose and did the classiest scrappin’ of his life, and in the seventh he knocked Dolan for a row of bamboo huts. As soon as Dolan was counted out, the Kid climbed out of the ring, and I hustled him to the dressin’ room. The crowd milled around him, everybody and his brother wantin’ to shake his hand or pat him on the back or somethin’. Part of the-crowd and a bunch of the newspaper boys crowd- ed into the dressin’ room and sort of sur- rounded the Kid. E started to get his street clothes for him, and then I noticed some- thin’ layin’ on the floor that must have felt from his pocket when he was takin’ off his clothes. It was a telegram and it said: “Will be there to see you win the fight, Tommy dear.” It wasn’t signed. When the Kid had dressed and got away, I started lookin’ for Red. I wanted to put the thing up to him, as I couldn’t figure it out at all. I found him over collecting his dough, and he was feelin’ like a million bucks, I slipped him the story, but it didn’t seem to surprise him none. “ But I wonder who sent the telegram?” I asked him. “Don’t waste no more time wonderin’, stupid,” he tells me. “ ’Cause I’m the guy that did the sendin’—that is, I sent it for another party without puttin’ the party - >> T didn’t get him at all, and I told him so. “ Here’s the low-down on it,” he said. “Now you and Ef did everything we could to get the Kid into the ring, and he paid as much attention to us as if we had been Eomicboo (E©) SE