Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 53: what you’re looking at

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

= Z body is “supposed to testify. sO. ‘THIS qs “WEDLOCK! ‘That is, all _ believers are.’ “Then whyn’t they swear me in?” he heatedly asked, testifying having but one ‘““T don’t want to tes- - tify to nothing, anyhow. You didn’t tip connotation for him. me off they was gonna pull anything like that.” - Letty laughed, her easy good nature “quickly restored. “J didn’t know the minister would call on you,” she said, “‘ or I would have helped you make up something nice to say. We will be prepared next time.” He secretly assured himself that = would be prepared by being absent; but said noth- ing further about it. - At the general store he noted that four or five of the hangers-on still clustered about its darkened portals, among them the- tall figure of Micah Shelby. As they passed, he remarked audibly that “ any city dude that tries to steal my girl is go- ing to git whopped some fine day!” _ The Slapper stopped, but the girl seized his arm and whispered: “ Please! Don’t stop here. I hate brawls. Come along, for my sake!” He yielded reluctantly. ‘“‘ What’s he mean, anyhow? Are you his jane, huh?” - He’s less than nothing tome! He calls. sometimes; I can’t refuse to see him. 1f- dislike him; but he comes of awful nice folks; his father is a deacon in our church.” “¥ should worry if his father is a boot- legger and drives his own Rolls-Royce!”. threatened the Slapper. “ He don’t want to get gay with me, or I'll crown him! No rube desperado is gonna bawl me out.” “He isn’t worth your notice,’ she in- sisted. “Just a loafer. No, that’s not quite fair, either. He doesn’t loaf. He has — more’n 2 hundred lobster pots set, and owns two fine dories he built himself. But he is a bully. Everybody will respect you I more if you just ignore him.” The Slapper grunted. He wasn’t crazy. about being respected, he mumbled; but- from where he came, little back. talk was : taken, and he wasn’t going to begin up = = = here in the bushes. Then he felt that Letty ee pee tate this < as a == he asserted. hard it was to pitch it up into the bays of — useful to Mrs. Tucker and Letty whenee a much smaller scale than in the city; —— = dumped oni the town for a public im- = = = ‘Some scenery you got on to-night: girly,” he hazarded. = __It was always safe to praise them. ea all fell for it. Indeed, Letty did smile, partly at his manner of ‘expressing himself. : “IT made it myself,” she admitted. “From a pattern in a New York fashion magazine,” “Yt mighta come off’n Fift’ Ascnas” “Got class to it. Made the other girls look like they was wearing ¢ Se other’s things, on a bet. 2 and the kids to play aro with sos tine = = Sometimes, in emergencies, he helped old— man Tucker. As when, rain threatening, — and the first crop of hay out, he found hoy = of the big barn; and again during a dry spell, he tugged ‘numberless pails of water — = to the vegetable patch. He made himself— they would tolerate him. about ihe: Kitchen, which wasn’t often. — eS a S Once or twice there were pee pictures Sas at the church vestry; a session in town — meeting confirmed his belief in the efficacy of craft and ring rule. Everything was. on - 4 Ds rewards were infinitesimal, most of the a = officials served without salary. But to his — experienced observation, there were little == deals being = through, secret agreements — = An undesirable lot was improvement. A piece of road mending — was scamped, leaving somebody a fat orahe See Rum running from the Canada line fat=— tened certain pockets. ) SS These hicks, he reasoned, were aS_ crooked as they dared to be, or the condi- _ tions ee =e “Not all of them, of there were straight-shooters-« even in the big : Se burg! SS He didn’t come in contact with Micah Shelby, though he saw him nearly every day. Soon after the experience meeting at the church, Micah called one night _ -upo Lae "She received him, = a 5a 3