Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 4, 1925 — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

IN THE EVENT OF DEATH. ‘““Whenever you say,” agreed Gaines. As she approached the door, Lederer strode forward and grasped her roughly by an arm with his free and. * Where are you goin’?” he demanded. She freed herself with a gesture of de- hance. ‘I’m going to see that justice is done she cried. ‘I’m going to bring the au- thorities of this county to life, and the frst thing they’ll do will be to turn Brad- ley Cosgrove free.” Lederer said nothing more as she fol- lowed Gaines from the room, and he said nothing until the sound of Gaines’s car an- nounced their departure. Then he ad- dressed Farley hotly, as though a flood of poisonous anger found vent in his words. ‘He'll be turned free!” he cried thickly. ‘That girl is mine—she belongs to me! An’ he’s buttin’ in. Well, he’ll get the works!” Farley, grinning, interrupted him. ‘“He’s all roped an’ hog-tied for the kill- in’,” he said. But Lederer’s wild words would not be stemmed. “We'll free him from jail! In the night we'll free him, an’ we’ll make him dance on the air!” 1 CHAPTER NIII. A LENIENT JUDGE. FTER the arrest of Bradley Cosgrove came the discovery by the people of Manford that they had a re- sentment. And this resentment was fed and developed by rumor in the mouths of all who listened to Wert Farley, Cliff Lederer, and their associates, and “ fact” as set forth in the Manford 4rgus. The demise of Jacob Klien was described with reportorial avidity. The front page howled with the details of the ‘“‘ crime,” and there was not lacking an editorial which indig- nantly denounced the outlander who came to this peaceful community to slay his fellow men in unseemly brawls and, it was darkly hinted, to avenge the financial fail- ure of his father by shooting honored citi- zens in the back. 851 Public opinion rebelled at this “ outrage ” and forgot the complaisance with which they had regarded like tragedies of the past. Nurtured by the excited editor of the dreus, and propagated by Farley and Lederer, the town of Manford indulged in an orgy of indignation. Unconsciously, the community used Cosgrove’s arrest as an outlet for its resentment against all that made lile precarious; it was a resentment which had been long pent up. It was due as much to this as to his desire to please Wert Farley, whose po- litical sway had placed him on the bench, that Judge Pete Fairlove refused the plea of John Gaines to release Cosgrove on bail. He stated portentously that in view of the popular opinion he thought it not safe to turn the prisoner free. Gaines, who had assured Hazel Farley that to free Cosgrove would be a mere formality, returned to her with this verdict. The following morning was set for the date of examination, and the two friends went to visit the prisoner at the jail. They found him playing jackstraws with Chris- tofferson’s seven-year-old Sylvia, and he arose from the floor apologetically. ‘But we'll finish our game just as soon as the first inning of this other one is over,” he assured her. ‘“ What’s it called?’ she asked doubt- fully. ‘‘ Cops and robbers,” he answered gayly. ‘“ How do you do, Miss Farley?” ‘They’re going to hold you without bail,” she said, coming to the point imme- diately. ‘ Have you seen the paper this morning?” * Yes,” he smiled. “I must talk to the editor about a job. He needs a good re- porter and an editorial writer. It doesn’t matter about the bail, Miss Farley—not yet. We'll have to put in a formal] plea at this examination.” “What's it for?” she asked gravely. ‘“ Just so the judge can review the case and decide whether it ought to be tried or not. How ts little Clifford’s arm?” Gaines had been regarding him gravely. ‘“ Lederer's gunnin’ for you, Brad,” he said. ‘Seems to me this jail here’s as safe a place as any for you.” GIOok