Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 19, 1924 — page 90: what you’re looking at

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

560 an unobstructed view of the garage lights, faintly outlining the path leading to the house, Phil prepared himself for a pro- tracted vigil. It proved to be iar longer than he anticipated. A distant church clock struck ten and eleven, and still no sound came to him but the whispering of the wind among the trees. The garage lights and those in the other outbuildings went out one by one and when midnight sounded the glow from the upper bedroom in the house was extinguished and utter darkness reigned. Accustomed as he had been in the pur- suit of his previous vocation to tirelessly vigilant waiting, Phil found himself aching in every muscle, and his eyelids growing heavy. That had been a fool notion about Lucie; she was probably asleep long ago. He didn’t understand those hot-tempered foreign dames, and he must have been too darn suspicious, looking for clews where there weren’t any. Still he might as well wait a little longer, if he could only keep awake! He moved about cautiously, but in the pitch darkness he kept running into trees and tripping over roots and rocks, and finally he returned to his sentinel tree and sat down, leaning against it. His head nodded lower and lower and at last rested on his chest, and he slept. How long it was before he awakened, Phil never knew, but he came to himself suddenly with every nerve tingling, and sprang to his feet, instinctively clutching his flash light and pistol. He had a vague notion that some one had passed him in the darkness, but that couldn’t be, for they were coming now! Stealthy footsteps were creeping toward him, nearer and nearer from the direction of that break in the wall, and the cloud which had obscured the stars was gone. He shrank back in the shadow of a bush and when a gaunt figure loomed before him he stepped forward and ordered: ‘‘ Hands up!” The figure promptly stretched long arms above his head but his shoulders were shai.- ing oddly and all at once a disgustingly familiar voice spoke: “Anything to oblige you, Phi, but we're wasting time.” ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, ‘“ George!” The pistol was lowered and its owner demanded, low but wrathfully: “What the hell are you doing here?” As if in answer a half-stifled cry in fem- inine voice came from the direction of the drive and George exclaimed: “Same thing you are! Come on!” They dashed forward, and around the turn in the driveway came upon a woman in a dark cape struggling in the grasp of a man. Phil flashed his light and at the same moment the woman wrenched from her cap- tor’s hands and vanished among the trees. “ Grab him, Phil!” George cried. “‘ That’s my man! That’s Radwick!” Phil obeyed and the stranger made no sign of protest. He seemed struck dumb by their advent, but when the flash light revealed George’s stern features he broke out with an oath that ended in a subdued chuckle: : “The Reverend Dr. Griffith Rhodes again!” he gasped. ‘‘ You two are dicks, are you? That’s a hot one! So am I!” CHAPTER XVI. DOUBLE PLAY. = ON’T try to come that on me!” D Phil declared in a threatening tone, “You're here to meet that woman. She phoned to you last night!” “What woman?” Radwick stared from one to the other of them. ‘‘ There’s a mix- up here, all right! You don’t mean the one I caught just now? Scranton Lucy?” “¢ Scranton 7!” ‘Sure! She’s a common crook. Her husband was a member of the Dobson gang and got bumped off a year and a half—” “TLet’s get out of here!” George inter- rupted. ‘‘ There’s a light gone up over there and—golly, hear those dogs!” A chorus of deep-throated baying arose upon the night. With one accord the three turned and@tarted for the gap in the wall, George first and then Radwick with Phil at his heels, grimly covering him with the pistol. They scrambled through the wires, crossed the road and, bending low, ran in the shadew of the opposite hedge till they came to a narrow, winding lane. Here oA O Eomichooks:co