Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 7, 1925 — page 132: what you’re looking at

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

us 3 602 mur, Or a policeman: might come pounding this side street. of his own home was cut off by the crowd of its aftermath was audible. = this time. Fe ST RUIN AT WY BH Re ne CON tt MMR GM ht LOY NY Pata ‘e Py wy 3 ‘ 1 Vy i chs Sf ) ait dark beside the deor, called an aotehace and let himself out on the sidewalk 2 5 eae Frem beyond the corner of the ¢ street which he had just left came a swelling mur- In the distance he could pick o ie : the clang of a patrol wagon. At any moment some of the bystanders might run over to Murphy’s on the same impulse which had breught Slim there, and so discover him; ding up Retreat in the disee tins itself. At the sound of hurrying footsteps. Slim’s indecision vanished. He dodged. into the alley beside M ‘urphy’s, ran two er three blocks. without a definite goal, and found himself not. far frem Kitty’s. It occurred to him that for a few hours her tenement would be a goad place to hide. If need be, she could help him furnish an alibi. He dropped over the back fence of her yard, entered the house by the cellar, and made his way up the back stairs. ‘Even inside the building, a couple of blecks away from the scene of the fight, the hullabaloo Tiger and Dutch had surely pulled a good. sk skirmish As Slim crept alone the famtly ighted hallway in the direction of Kitty’s door, he was dismayed to see that door suddenly flung open and a man’s figure emerge. Even. from the back he recognized Harry McCall. “Kitty followed him across the threshold. ““ No—don’t come,” Harry told her per- -emptorily; “keep in the house, and keep safe. It’s probably a gang fight—and if your fme young reformer isn’t mixed up in it, Pk eat my shield.” = He plunged down the stairs. At the same instant Kitty turned and caught sight of Slim. Her mouth fell open, but she did not betray him by se much as an exclama- tion. While the thunder of McCall’s de- parture still rose to them, she silently erooked a finger at Slim and swung open the tenement door. Disheveled, a cut ever his eye, the sweat of battle and of flight still on his face, _ made a rather terrifying appearance. Kitty put a hand to her threat. ey you were In 12” she asked. kissed his twitching lips. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY EEE wae cou Idn’t help it, Kitty—leastways, : not after the thing g got started.” He. ex- plained briefly. ee So. Tige “s hurt bad, and it’s a. mess all around. I thought maybe if I had to do it I could fra me some kind of an alibi here: but McCall spoiled that. | can’t hardly claim I was- es on. you when he knows different.” ‘Kitty spoke as in a dream. 22 He came back. We had a sort ae fuss earlier to-day. He wanted to make up.” “ Oh, well—” SHnr fell silent. Now that he was here, he didn’t like to ask if he could stay a while. sort ef a dirty deal, after all, for the girl, in case the police did any questioning. He put his hand on the doorknob. “T guess VL be going. = | Kitty sprang for the door so suddenly that he blinked. “ What? _ Go out there while Harry is. looking for ee Stay here, ‘Slim ; stay till the excitement’s died out and you” can fet home safe. ee Harry comes back, you can hide.” Stim looked down at his feet. “I didn’t know as you’d want me to stay here—” he said in a hoarse voice. | 7 For answer, ‘Kitty put hee two hands on his breast, raised her w id. rose face and For a moment be- resisted her, pushing the clinging little hands away. But they rose again and went around his neck. With a groan he gathered Kitty imto his arms, strained her to him, whispered broken words against her face. “TJ knew,” said Kitty, “ when I saw You standing there in the hall, looking like a ghost, and in some kind of trouble—what- ever kind it might be—I knew then that I loved you.” Something wet smeared her Se She drew back in Slim’s arms to look up at him. The tears were streaming down: his cheeks. That, at any rate, was a.sight no one had ever seen before. TV. It was two hours or so later when Slim made his way through back streets to his own quarters. Nobody stopped him. Cau- tious reconnoitering showed that no one was watching the house. Thankfully he stole to his roem and fell into bed. To Slim: it seemed that he had slept but Sac COMICE bool S col 7