Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 14, 1928 — page 21: what you’re looking at

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

RED found a watch chain, which he yanked away, and a small, thin, gold-plated watch came away with it. “Have a heart,” protested the vic- tim. “G’wan. Now, feller, you walk to the subway station and go down with- out speaking to anybody. I’m here watching you, and the first move you make to get help you get a bullet in the back. You take the subway uptown, see?” “Give me a nickel, then,’ pleaded Lester. ‘‘ You’ve cleaned me out.” A grin cut the countenance of the bandit. “ma good guy,” he stated. “ Here is half a dollar. Now get the hell out of here.” So Lester walked away. He did not suppose that the highwayman was actually watching him, ready to fill him with lead if he failed to obey orders, but there was a chance; and as he walked away gooseflesh covered him from neck to ankle, Besides, no policeman was visible, and he knew human nature well enough to be aware that if he did stop a pedestrian and ask him to re- turn with him to capture an armed robber that pedestrian would be an- noyed. Instead, he descended the subway steps and crossed to the other side of the street, where he emerged and sought a policeman. It took him three or four minutes to locate one, and the officer listened to him without much interest. 3 “You better go to the station and tell your story to the sergeant,” he ad- vised. “ I’m on duty here, and you bet the crook is a mile away by now. No- tice any ‘distinguishing marks?” “Well, no.” “ Didn’t have any scars on his face or hands?” “T didn’t see any.” “ How the heck are we going to find him? You ought to have better sense than carry a couple of hundred dollars HOT. 159 on your person. How do I know you was robbed anyway?” ‘“‘Where’s the station?” asked Les- ter wearily. “Three blocks up and one to the right.” Fully aware that he was wasting his time, Lester trudged to the station house, where he answered a lot of questions about himself, proved his right to own two hundred dollars, gave a perfectly worthless description of the brigand, and was finally permitted to depart. He was exceedingly down-hearted as he left the station house. That he would never see his money again he was certain; as crimes go, what had happened to him was petty larceny, and the police were not in the least interested. But he had worked harder to-day than ever before in his life, had realized a thumping profit; and it was all gone, together with his day’s ex- penses. He was out about sixty-five or sev- enty dollars, which had to be made up, or he could buy no more rolls or sau- sages or coffee. Fortunately he still had a hundred dollars to his credit in the bank, which would stock him up to-morrow and pay to-day’s losses; and perhaps to-morrow, also, would be a busy day. It might be worse, he decided as he rode uptown in the subway. The yegg had been lurking in the neighborhood for hours, had learned he owned no safe and must carry the receipts away with him, so had lain in wait. Perhaps he would also be waiting to-morrow night; but to-morrow Les would fool him. He could afford to hire a boy, in view of the business that he was doing, and he would leave the stand several times during the day to deposit his takings in a good, stout bank. The incident was unfortunate but not ruinous, and in the future he would be on the alert for holdup men. In his room he knew he had five or six dol- ECOPMICLOOKS (E@)