Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 72: what you’re looking at

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

62 not dispense with either. If he had, Jenks would have wrapped him up again, patient- ly, good humoredly, but inexorably firm. Nine months had passed and John Smith was an old man, an irascible, petulant, un- happy old man. On occasions he realized this fact and this morning was one of the occasions. They had made him old, Maude, his wife, and the eminent California special- ist, and his business associates of the Eureka Company. Even Jenks. Jenks was in the conspiracy, too! Wrapping him up, bun- dling him in a silken scarf, wheeling him around the boulevards like a baby. Why, damn it,- they wouldn’t let him even drive his own car any more! No, sir! Tucked him in like a poor, doddering old wreck and tooled him over the boulevards at twenty miles an hour! And when he came home Maude would make him lie down for an hour before lunch! Maude had her fun. She was wrapped up in the affairs of their second daughter, married just a little more than a year. Be- tween Hilda and her husband and the pros- pective addition to their family Maude had plenty to occupy her mind. Thought of his daughter made him shudder. When her baby was born they’d all call him grandpa! Worst of all, he could get no news about affairs at the office—affairs of his own com- pany—the company in which he still con- trolled forty-nine per cent of the stock. They kept that from him! Vague, cheer- ful, rambling letters came from his asso- ciates, letters recommending that he take up golf or tarpon fishing or tour the Yosem- ite. But especially golf. He despised golf. Between Maude and the doctors and the conspiracy among his old associates John Smith had nothing left to think about but himself and he felt mighty sorry for him- self. Old! He roused, scowling fiercely, chew- ing savagely at the cigar he did not dare light because if he lit it Jenks would take it away from him. Old? Damn it, he wasn’t old! Just past fifty—or was it forty- nine? He never could remember whether you counted from birth or the first birth- day. Old! Bl-a-a-a-a! A noisy, rattling, dust covered flivver, ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. sun-blistered, rusted, scarred and dented and overflowing with passengers, pulled off the road and parked just behind them. John. Smith watched a worried, coatless man jump out and inspect a flat tire while a shapeless woman in a Mother Hubbard vol- unteered shrill advice. “ Mister, got a jack I can borrow?” the coatless man yelled it at John Smith. “Jack? You bet you, neighbor!” John Smith was up and out of his car, fumbling at the tool locker. “ Let me, sir,” murmured Jenks, instantly at his side. John Smith found the jack, but Jenks relieved him of it and handed it to the coatless man. They proceeded in a body to the rear of the flivver, got the jack under the axle and raised the car; now empty of passengers, They made quite a little crowd, including the coatless man’s numer- ous family of small children. John Smith was pleasurably excited. Something had happened, something interesting! He found a rim wrench and started loosening nuts, preparing the rim holding the damaged tire for removal. He got grease on his hands and enjoyed it: “Let me, Mr. Smith.” wrench from him. John Smith began unlashing the spare from the tire carrier. Jenks relieved him of the task, kindly but firmly. Between Jenks and the coatless man they left him nothing to do but squat in the dust, watch- ing with breathless interest the removal of the tire and the substitution of the rim car- tying the spare one. Once a rim nut rolled away and he was allowed to hold that until it was needed. He felt it an honor. The spare tire was locked in place, the damaged one strapped in the carrier and the jack no longer needed. ‘‘ I’m sure much obliged,” said the proprietor of the flivver. “ Got to get down to San Pedro before noon. Job waiting for me there—same firm I used to work for in Jersey City—” “Vou’re from Jersey City?” John Smith exclaimed with heightened interest. “Left last March, all of us—” “You drove it?” “ Well, we didn’t care to walk, mister.” John Smith surveyed the battered Lizzie with new respect, almost fondness. It had te Jenks took the Comicoooks (©)