The Argosy, January 1907 — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

234 looked at him over the glass. “I don’t know—two or.three ounces, I suppose— enough to soak up a handkerchief and tie up this knee. You probably know better than I do, don’t you?” Radford nodded and_ disappeared down the aisle. His brother looked up absently as he removed the arnica-bottle from the shelf. “More of your things?’ he whispered. “Only to the extent of about forty cents,” the druggist smiled. ‘“ The smash-up didn’t pan* out as you ex- pected, Bob. The court-plaster box hasn’t been opened yet.” “It panned out for me, all .right enough,” the editor replied. ‘“ By the time I’ve got or faked the names of about twenty passengers and described the injuries they didn’t receive this thing is going to occupy the first page and use up all the big type in the office. If I can’t muck-rake fe The druggist was not listening. The label was being written in his customary precise hand, and the paste-brush was presently lathering it freely. He dabbed it on to the bottle with a precise little slap and hurried front again. The big man was wiping his mouth with a generous handkerchief. The smaller set down his empty glass with a slightly wry face as the neatly wrapped bottle was passed over the counter. ‘““You’re generous with your wretched sour phosphate!” he announced, not too pleasantly. “JT beg pardon?” Radford, rinsing the glasses, opened his eyes. “That stuff was simply rank!” “ Why—lT’m very sorry—I “Ves, so am I!” said the small stranger tartly.. “ Brrrrr!” The druggist came to, the surface suddenly. ‘Our sirups ” Radford began. ‘Hang your sirups!”’ was his reward. ‘“T don’t care a rap what they’re made of or how pure they are! Drop it! It’s all right. I wonder if that car’s nearly ready to go ahead?” He walked,to the open door and stood there watching the slow progress of the work. ‘“When’re you going on?” he cried to customary good 9 THE ARGOSY. the conductor, who had just passed up a handful of something to his partner. dbelt “an--hotr, sir.’ ‘““Good Lord! Not before that?” ‘It can’t be managed, sir. The break’s just ahead, you see. If we don’t fix it up the line may be tied up alli night. It’ll be done just as soon as pos- sible, sir.” ce Bah! ) The pleasant little gentleman strode back into the store and sat down before the soda-counter once more. “I don’t know what the devil to make of a system like this,” he averred. ‘It seems to me that this sort of thing ought to be looked into. Here this outfit offers transportation at about half the rate of the steam roads and in pretty nearly the same time. [I took it for the sake of getting the fresh air and a ‘dittle breeze in preference to cinders. Now = He snapped his fingers impatiently, and the sour expression of his lean face grew more pronounced. Radford did not reply. He was not responsible for the management of the trolley line, and the orange phosphate criticism had not cut to great depth, coming from this ap- parently chronically irascible person. “Oh, they'll get into motion between now and midnight,” the large man re- marked cheerfully. ‘“ Doubtless, but I had hoped to reach Worman’s Center and be in bed some- thing before that hour. I’ve got a long ride to-morrow that I can’t possibly miss, and this blasted delay——” He broke off and turned to Radford with a glare. “I say, you! What the devil was in that stuff, anyway?” “Sugar, orange-juice, and carbonated distilled water, with a little phosphate of lime,” the druggist replied evenly. “ Pish! I mean actually!” “That is all there actually was, sir. I make my own sirups.” An exasperated click of the tongue was the only comment, for the moment. The small and cynical eyes glared through the doorway at the unconscious motorman on the car. The larger man passed out a bill, and the druggist made change. He took a last glance at the irritable visitor, and resolved to flee behind the prescription- counter. = =-GOmMmicdoo (E@)