The Argosy, Vol. 61, No. 4 — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

624 They continued to glare at each other for some minutes longer. Then both turned suddenly and walked toward home, on opposite sides of the street. Their front doors slammed at the same moment, and both went to bed, but not to sleep. Next morning the telephone rang at six o’clock, and awakened the Hicks’s household. “They couldn’t have recounted the votes so early,” cried Hicks, jumping into his trousers. ‘‘ Something must have happened.” He rushed to the phone. ‘* Hallo—this is Spooner,’”’ came an ex- cited voice from the other end of the wire. : ‘“Yes—what is it? What has hap- pened?” “The town hall was broken into last night,” came the reply. “The ballot- box was knocked over and broken open. The window near it was smashed.” “With what?” demanded Hicks. ‘A new ax-handle,” came the reply. CHAPTER V. THE COUNTER-CHARGE. At seven o’clock one of Pierce’s back- ers rushed up to the Pierce residence and frantically rang the bell. Dick Pierce was summoned, and the excited backer told him the news in gasps. “You say a workingman passed the water-works this morning and saw the broken window, then looked in and no- ticed the smashed ballot-box?’’ asked Pierce, hardly able to believe his ears. “Ves, The window was smashed with a brand-new ax-handle,” was the answer. “A brand-new ax-handle!’’ cried Pierce, thinking of the meeting he had with Hicks coming home the night be- fore, a new ax-handle under his arm. It was perfectly clear in Pierce’s mind. Hicks had slipped back during the night and smashed the ballot-box so there would have to be a new election. He hurried into his clothes to accom- pany his backer to the water-works for a personal investigation. As Pierce left his house, Hicks hur- THE ARGOSY. ried down his own stairs with Spooner. The two pair of men met on the side- walk. Spooner and Hicks spoke to Pierce’s backer, while Pierce and _ his backer spoke to Spooner; but Hicks and Pierce eyed each other like fighting cocks, and their necks grew red with suppressed anger as they glared into each other’s eyes. At the town hall there was quite a crowd collected. The door to the room containing the election box had not yet been opened, and the mob was gazing through the broken window at the ballot-box, beside which Jay a shining wooden ax-handle. “Why isn’t the door open?’ de- manded Spooner. “They’re waiting for the judge of election,” explained somebody in the crowd. “ Besides, nobody’s been able to wake up Pete yet.” Hicks looked up at the little room above; the light he had noticed at mid- night was still shining dimly. Several of the crowd were shouting to Pete in a vain endeavor to awaken him. “He probably went out on a spree last night,” suggested Hicks to Spooner. “Yes,” was the reply, “‘ and that gave the citizens’ party a chance to smash the ballot-box. Evidently they intended to get into it and remove a few of our votes so it would be their election on the re- count ; but something must have slipped up and the box smashed.” Then Hicks told Spooner im a low voice that Pierce had come home the day before with a new ax-handle, and that, to him, it looked very much as if Pierce had done the work himself. “ Did anybody else see him come home with the riew handle?” cried Spooner, a -sudden, strategic idea striking him. Yes. the car.”’ “Get their names, and have them sign a paper that they saw Pierce with the ax-handle. We’ll make capital out of this,” replied Spooner enthusiastically. “All right,” answered Hicks, neg- lecting to tell his manager in his excite- ment that he, too, had carried home a new handle. Suddenly the window in Pete’s room was thrown open, and a frowsy head thrust out. Three or four fellows were on EO OO (©