Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 98: what you’re looking at

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

By NAN MOYNAHAN as Janet Murdock came out of the Blade building and made her way across City Hall Park. It was a blustery sort of gale, picking up stray bits of paper as it scampered along and lifting sudden eddies of dust into the eyes of the hurrying throngs. It sent the blood whipping through Janet’s veins and the color flood- ing her cheeks. There was still time—they did not receive visitors at the Tombs until two o’clock—for a brisk walk, before keep- ing her appointment. Appointment was hardly the name for it, she thought grimly. It seemed a thorough- ly fruitless undertaking to her and she was annoyed with the whole affair. There had been no appointment made—Wade had seen to that—and she had no certainty that the warden would grant her an interview with Mme. Le Montague. She knew from long experience, the impatience of prison officials with anything that smacked of a sob story, especially with the trial so near at hand. But it had been Wade’s idea—and with him, to think was to act. No other city editor she’d ever known but would have had the whole thing ar- A SHARP wind nagged at the lower city 254 Comicboo ranged beforehand so that it would go oft smoothly and the success of the venture be assured. Wade was not that kind. ‘ No favors!” was his motto. ‘‘ Let everybody work out his own salvation.” “Just go down to the visitors’ house,” he had ordered, “ send in your card and ask to see Mme. Le Montague. Ever been in- side of that visitors’ house? Say, it’s a scream. No privacy—no conference cham- bers for the favored ones to sit and dis- cuss things on the Q. T. with their friends. No, siree! It’s the essence of democracy— a sort of bedlam let loose. Get in and give us a picture of her in that atmosphere. She’s a good looker, the police reporters tell me. Play that up. She’s one of the slick- est crooks in the world if she’s pulled that job—fifty thousand dollars’ worth of Liber- ty Bonds—think of it? Let’s hear your impressions—the general environment is what we want. She’s in with all the riff- raff of the city. ‘Fell us how she sizes up with Judy O’Grady. Ask her anything you like—what she thinks her chances for ac- quittal are? If she has any friends or rela- tives with her? get the atmosphere!” Ss Anything you like—but