The Argosy, Vol. 75, No. 4 — page 246: what you’re looking at

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

948 house that excited him,’ somebody else says; ‘come here, Prince. Come, boy, and a lot of that stuff until Prince gave up the job and walked over to them. If they’d looked at his teeth close they might have seen the pattern of the suit | was wearin’; but they were too anxious to get back to the eatings, and they dragged Prince in and shut the door on him. “* Now you see what was the mat- ter,’ Bill says from behind the hedge; ‘I didn’t know the blamed cur’s name.’ ~ “When everything got quiet again I went on up to the porch roof and in through one 6f the open windows into a bedroom. Hobe, I’m ashamed to tell you what a mess of junk was lyin’ around in that place. “It looked like an auction-shop on the morning of a big day. It was some girl’s room—maybe the bride’s for all | know—and she had shed rings and brooches and stick - pins all over the shack. “T gathered ‘em up and jabbed ‘em into my pockets and went gently on my way to the next room and the next, amassing what was to be had, and, be- lieve me, Hobe, it was some consider- able. ‘That weddin’-party was framin’ to do things right in the way of the glitter and they seemed to be savin’ it all for the next night.” Denver Jimmie paused’to roll a ciga- rette, and his friend, Mr. Hoban, seized the opportunity to say a word. “Well, I don’t see where you're in very bad so far,” he said; -“ things seem to be fallin’ pretty soft for you —except gettin’ the pants tore off you maybe.”’ ‘“TLemme finish,’ Jimmie suggested ; “T ain't got to the jumpin’-off place yet, Hobe, and you can’t realize how { feel about it and why I’m sittin’ here thinkin’ what a chump [ am. I got into about the fourth room and was idly slippin’ a watch and a few things | into my pocket when two girls come up the stairs, gabbin’ their heads off. The room door was standin’ open right at the head of the sta’rs, and THE ARGOSY. there was nothing for me to do but duck into the clothes-closet. ‘“T’m hardly in there with the door shut, Hobe, when in comes those two dolls. “*QOh, this is the colonel’s room!’ one of ’em says. “*That’s all right,’ says the other one; ‘he'll be down-stairs all evening. I just want to tell you this where no- body will interrupt us,’ and then she cut loose and gabbled and chattered for half an hour and me smotherin’ to death in the clothes-closet. “TI tried to get a line on what they were talkin’ about to help me pass the time; but [ was out of my depth in a’ minute — it was all about clothes — and that reminded me of my mix-up with Prince and the bum front I’d put up after I got out of there. “* Here,’ I says to myself, ‘if this’s Colonel Peterby’s room this must be the old boy’s clothes-closet. And if that’s the case, I’m bein’ heated to the meltin’ point with some swell rag's that [’ll need very much by the time I get to the first lamp-post. Therefore, me for a suit of the colonel’s clothes before leavin’ his hospitable precincts.’ “T began pawin’ around among the clothes, tryin’ to locate something that would do, and had just got hold of this bunch of bags hangin’ on one of them clothes - hangers, when the two girls got through with the big secret and beat it down- stairs again. I opened the closet door, took a flash at the clothes in the electric light, and de- cided they'd do for me. ‘“ Not wantin’ to rub it in on Colonel Peterby too hard, I left mv old layout on the floor of the closet when I changed, dolled myself up in a new hat that was perchin’ on the corner of a mirror, and got ready to slide for that latticework getaway. It was time, too, for the dinner-party down-stairs was breakin’ up and I knew they might come swarmin’ up on me any minute. “After gettin’ away from Prince and the butler, riskin’ my neck climbin’ and then dodgin’ the two girls, I CONMCEOOOKS (E@)