Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

THE TRAIN EXPECTER. “We can’t do that,” Johnny object- ed. “You'll have to make your ar- rangements with the owner, and then we'll have to fix the place up. Chances are the roof leaks and the inside will probably have to be repaired some. And then we'll have to get a stove and some furniture. Guess we better find a place to board for a week or two. You can do that this afternoon.” “Tl do it now,” said Allister, “and lug our things over and get some break- fast. Then after lunch I'll find out who owns that shack and put the deal through.” “ Don’t try to do too much at once,” Johnny advised. ‘“ You better catch up on your sleep to-day and not go up the mountain until I can go with you. It’s a pretty stiff climb.” “Don’t you worry about me, John- ny. I had no intention of walking. Pll hire somebody to drive me up.” V. AFTER about two weeks Johnny and Allister were established in their own residence. The latter had bought the whole tract on which the cabin stood— a hundred acres covering most of the mountain—for ten thousand dollars. The cabin had been patched up, broken windows replaced, and the chimney repaired until it was in fairly livable shape. Inside, it had originally been one room about twenty feet square. But at some time or other this had been divided in the middle and the rear part partitioned off to make a fair-sized bedroom and a very small kitchen. There had been a wooden bunk over the space reserved for a cook stove in the kitchen. But the new occupants had torn it out, and in its stead they had furnished the bedroom with two small iron beds which they had bought in the village, together with a few other pieces of furniture. The kitchen floor was left bare, but in the bedroom and living room the 603 floors had been covered with cheap linoleum. The cabin faced the village half a mile away. It stood on about a half acre of cleared ground. At the rear was a shed which had evidently been used for a barn. The two hermits cleaned it thor- oughly and whitewashed the interior. Then they installed therein a cow and a horse. The cow’s function was obvious, and the horse, together with an old cutter, inasmuch as the snow had been falling steadily for a week or more, had been bought to“essen Allister’s sense of re- moteness while Johnny was at the sta- tion, and to enable him to get about when he tired of the cabin. At first, Johnny did all the heavy work, such as caring for the animals, chopping wood and carrying water, while Allister managed’ most of the cooking and housework. But gradual- ly, under an intelligently regulated diet, plenty of fresh, clean milk, pure water, and enough work to keep his mind occupied and to make him ready to sleep soundly at night, his emacia- tion disappeared and the pallor of his skin was displaced by a healthy glow. The improvement was almost im- perceptible at first, nevertheless it was an improvement, except that in his leisure moments the man was despond- ent and moody. But-as winter struck its stride Allister grew stronger until he was able to do his share of all the work. Johnny noted all this with satisfac- tion and bided his time to broach the subject that was uppermost in his mind. His first real anxiety, after Allister had begun to convalesce, came when they were sitting before the little stove one night about two months after they had come to live in the cabin. “T don’t know,” said Allister, “ why I ever did anything so foolish as to tie eet down with this place. I’m sick of it.” EOPNICL OOO KS Gor,