Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 189, No. 4 — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

088 because the company took that safe away from him, or whether it was through a stran- ger who landed in town, but the sheriff started on an awful bat. Anyhow, he and that dark-skinned fellow with the funny eyes started to hit ’em up at the Wet House that evening for keeps. The sheriff never showed up at his house all that night, and in the morning, his wife and me couldn’t find him anywheres around town, hard as we looked. I was awfully uneasy about the whole thing when I opened up the express office late. I just felt it would be my luck for something to turn up. And it did! About ten o’clock, a short, heavy set, middle-aged man, dressed more like an Easterner with his long-trousered gray suit and Panama hat, walked into the office and asked for the sheriff. When I told him the sheriff wasn’t about, muttering something about him being called out of town, the man got awfully peeved. After staring at the floor a moment or two, he raised his light blue eyes, mopped his clean-shaven face with a small, white handkerchief, and spit out what was on his mind. He said he was with the railroad, at headquarters, and they’d got a tip that the Red Handkerchief was planning to stage a holdup on the lower end of the branch. It seemed, according to the dope they’d got, that the Red Handkerchief was figuring to stop the train at Whitesand Springs, about ten miles off the main line, and about forty miles below Redbug. So he’d come to see the sheriff, intending to ask him to form a posse and hide around the Whitesand Springs for the next few days, hoping he’d be able to nail the Red Handkerchief and his gang, and put a stop to their robberies. He was as sore as a pup “cause he hadn’t found the sheriff in. After cussing under his breath a little while, he asked who was the sheriff’s dep- uty. I’d been expecting something like that, and while he’d been cussing to himself, I’d been doing some tall thinking. He wasn’t going to get me to go down to Whitesand Springs and lay for that Red Handkerchief. Not if I could help it! I ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. didn’t want to get measured for a wooden overcoat like poor Sam Haikins had! ‘You see, the sheriff ain’t really got any deputy,” I answers, slow and careful-like. ‘ Pve got the appointment—just a little po- litical honor the boys gave me—but since the express company made us put our good safe in the car and take that old scrap box, I’ve got to stick pretty close to the office. We most always have lots of valuables in there, and it wouldn’t do for me to get very far away.” ‘No, of course not!” the man spoke up. ‘We couldn’t think of asking you to leave your post of duty, placed as you are. As a railroad official, I fully understand your situation! We’d-expect any of our own men to do the same. It seems that the only thing for me to do is to wait around town for awhile for the sheriff to return. If I should miss him, kindly tell him I’ve called and give him my message—my name’s Saunders—H. A. Saunders. It’s very important that he get down into the lower end of the county without delay. We can’t tell what day the Red Handkerchief may attack the train.” I was tickled to death with the way my slick spiel had got me out of a bad hole. That old-fashioned ‘safe, standing there .in the corner, sure had come in mighty handy for an alibi. If it wasn’t for that, he’d ’a’ never let up so easy. ‘Tl tell him, Mr. Saunders, just as soon as he comes in!” I says, my nerve coming back fast. ‘“ And he’ll gather up some of the boys and hustle down to Whitesand Springs. It’s just breaking my heart that I can’t go along, cause there’s nothing I’d like better than a shot at the Red Handker- chief. But no such luck!” Saunders stopped on his way to the door and rubbed his chin. ‘‘ Perhaps I could ar- range to have one of our men look after your job. If you say the word, I'll try! Then you could get started for the a before the sheriff returns!” I’d put my foot in it now. I’d have to think up some stall quick. “That wouldn’t hardly do,” I mumbles. ‘““ You see, the sheriff won’t let any one but me have the combination of the safe—it’s too risky,” (E00) VOOKS mie (E00)