Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 123, No. 4 — page 181: what you’re looking at

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

A SLIGHT and across intervening hollows, he flew. The rocks pursued him to where the houses rubbed elbows down-town. It is well that they stopped there, for he could have run no farther. — | The ancient rural sport of “ rocking a feller in’ may have several objectives. It gives play to the natural exuberance of hoodlumism; again, there is “something keenly humorous to the hoodlums’ ears in the story that the excited runner usually tells the next day. It’s chief merit, how- ever, is that it tends to keep their victim away from certain neighberhoods or house- — holds after nightfall. Dannny did not live up to the rules of the game. He went back, and the nearest reference he ever made to the incident was his cryptic statement to Mary. “T’d no idea you were so popular, Mary.” He was not attacked that night, but the next evening the fun was repeated with a difference. With eyes and ears alert, as they had been since that other night, he was passing the “ danger zone’ when he _ saw a bush move on the side of the road. At the same instant he picked out the knarled oak not twenty paces away behind which he would take refuge. Then came the first rock. Aimed with deadly precision, it took Danny in the back and it seemed to him as if every rib in his body were broken. They certainly meant business this time. Well, so did he. He did not have to reach for his gun; it was already in his hand. Wheeling, he fired twice in the direction from which the rock had come, and then made for shelter behind the oak. With gun still smoking he was ducking behind the tree when he saw that it shel- tered another man—one of the gang. The gangster dropped his half brick and took to his heels. Twice Danny dug up the dust around his departing footsteps to hurry him along and turned his remaining shots up the road. The gang was now in dis- ordered flight; Danny could hear them go. “He reloaded his gun and listened, but all was quiet. That night a doctor was called in to dress- the wounds of one Lem Giles, a young man . ’ 7 OE er OU SERVICE. 687 about town, who had “ accidently shot him- self in the leg while cleaning his revolver.” It was merely a flesh wound and not dan- gerous, After dressing and bandaging it the best he could, the doctor said: “You'll be as good as ever in a few days. But what worries, me is: What kind of a position did you get your gun into to shoot yourself like that?” ‘“‘ I—I sort o’ set down on it, doc,” was the best explanation Lem could give. And still, if Danny was a few minutes late, Mary seemed worried over his safety! “'What’s to be afraid of?” said Danny. ‘ Qut with it; I’m about fed up on mystery. Forewarned is forearmed, you know.” ‘It’s this, Danny: I hear that a gang is going to rock you in some night.” “Rock me in?” repeated Danny with mock horror. ) “You needn’t laugh,” said Mary; “ they don’t mean it in fun. Ben Riggs is back of the crowd.” “* Ben Riggs? I fail to recall the gentle- man among my acquaintances. But why, O lady, do you speak that name in a hushed whisper?” | ‘‘ Do you mean to say you’ve never heard of Ben Riggs?” Danny had not; the name meant no more to him than that of Pharaoh’s butler. he was not long in learning something of Riggs’s character, as depicted by Miss Loomis. Riggs was thoroughly vicious and he covered his felonies with th@ larger crime of obstructing justice through political influ- ence. Much of his shady work was done by a gang of bullies, but he was not above executing his own: orders. beaten an old man to death on the streets; and men still remember how he once poured kerosene over a great, shaggy dog, which he set on fire and sent down the street, a shrieking arrow of light. Several times officious persons had evoked the law on him, but to no avail. The district attoraey was his cousin, and the Riggses were a large and clannish fam- ily of wide, political influence. fool grand jury found a bill against him over his cousin’s advice, the district attor- ney promptly nolle prossed the indictment. I - V | &% But Once he had If some (COLMA OOOKS. COM