Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

ALBERT CHENICEK What to do when you suddenly find yourself minus your money in a big city a long way from home and friends Chicago is like every other city in the world. If you have money in your pocket, it’s a fine town; 1f you're broke, it’s—well, not so good. To Walt Wilkinson, ten hours after his arrival from Bridge Point, Missouri, Chicago was a hell of a place. So, at any rate, he told himself as he stood on the corner of Madison and Halstead Streets and shivered in the bitter-cold wind of late March. Walt had left the train with apparel of sufficient variety to protect him against any kind of weather, but now he wore no overcoat, nor even a top- coat, and the cheap, frayed, baggy suit that covered his solid frame was totally unlike the natty outfit with which he had been clad when he emerged from the railroad station at ten o'clock the evening before. Also—cold, uncom- fortable fact!—his pockets now con- tained not a single, solitary dime, whereas he had arrived with three hun- dred dollars. [: one respect at least, In the short space of a few hours he _ had been “ done ’— completely and beautifully. And there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. Ed Agar, back in Bridge Point, had given him some advice that sounded good at the time. “Listen, Walt,” Ed said, “Chis no place for a man who doesn’t know how _ to keep a weather eye out for trou- ble. Don’t take any chances. You'll have a peach of a time if you do as [| tell you, but if you don't you lt.—be- 1t- 1m somebody’s game of tag before you know what's going on. Don’t ask strangers for advice. When your train gets in, take a taxi to a hotel—the Loch- invar is good—and don’t climb into the first cab you see at the station. There are a lot of pirates chauffeuring hacks around, and if one of them gets you, good night! Pick out a lemon cab and you won't need to worry.” There was a lot more of the same, ending up with: “ Walt, why don’t you wait a day longer? I’m going to Chi on a business trip to-morrow. I want to place some orders, and collect some jack the wife’s brother says he’s ready to pay back, and then when that’s done I'll be free. I can show you the ropes, and boy, we'll have a time! What say?” _ Walt, with admirable judgment, had said no. Agar was a hen-pecked man, 662 COMIC LOOKS (E@)