The Argosy, Vol. 83 No. 1 — page 77: what you’re looking at

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

HAMPTON OF had the presence of mind to close the trap above him. The dark-skinned man had now opened a rear door, which gave directly upon the steep descent to the Speedway and* the river. Shreds of light from the Speed- way lamps filtered in through the tr¢es, and with this slight advantage the fugi- tives pulled themselves together after a fashion and stole out with a cautious. re- gard for the chances of immediate pursuit. A man sat on the floor near the door as Jerry started to leave, and a ray of light showed that it was Delroy. “Are you coming?” Jerry whispered, “or don’t you mind being found here by the police?” “ft think my ankle is broken,” moaned the man. “What the devil I ever let my- self into such a scrape for is more than I can tell! What are you doing here?” - “Come on!” Jerry ordered peremptor- ily. “They’re at the trap now; if you’re caught you'll have to explain why you were here and why you were in such a Donnybrook row. Such publicity would ~ be pleasant for your daughter, wouidn’t itr He caught Delroy by the arm and lifted him to his feet. Limping painfully and groaning, the older man suffered himself to be dragged through the door and out upon a steep bank which afforded but per- ilous footing in the dark. Loud voices sounded from the upper floor of the building, doors banged and at last the deliberate investigators found the trap and could be heard descending the ladder. “Run!” ordered Jerry, and scrambled down the bank, pulling Delroy along de- spite his protests. They blundered through tall weeds and brush, and came upon a rambling struc- ture of timber framework to the north- east of the building they had left. Jerry forced his charge to climb over a part of the obstruction, and they realized pres- ently that they were more or less trapped in the scaffolding of a small “scenic rail- way.” THE HEIGHTS. 67 It started, evidently, above them at the level of the avenue, and the tracks were laid in loops and “dips” over a consider- able area of the hillside. Jerry investigated a large object that loomed vaguely a few feet away and dis- covered that it was one of the three-seated cars that are commonly used upon such contrivances. It was tied for the night to the side-rail of the track, and with sud- den inspiration he undid the rope and found that the car moved forward when he pushed it. “Into it!” he cried, and hauled the un- willing Delroy after him into the rear seat. There was a brake there, to be used by the operator, and he loosened it and gave the car a shove by kicking against the sup- ports of the side-rail. The effect was startling. The car glided smoothly for a few feet, then tilted down- ward at an alarming angle and plunged into a pit of blackness. Jerry clung to the swaying, terrified Delroy, and braced his feet against the seat in front. The car reached the bottom of the dip, then soared upward with a dizzy swoop. It played fast and loose with the law of gravity, cut figures-of-eight, threw the pas- sengers forward as though to pitch them out, then snapped backward till their bones cracked. Jerry did some quick thinking. The car would doubtless stop finally close to the exit of the structure on Amsterdam Ave- nue—the place of all others at which they did not wish to land. The car plunged again toward the depths, and he made a guess that they were on the last round of the nerve-shat- tering trip. -He caught the brake lever with his right hand, still clinging to Del- roy with the other, and made ready to test its efficacy. 7 The car bounded over a sickening “thank-ye-ma’am,” and careened around a curve that lay among brush and tree branches near the bottom of the hill, and he saw their pursuers hastening down the hill to the left, searching the path with a flash-lamp. Instantly he took a chance a Gomichbooks (E@)