Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 110: what you’re looking at

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

676 here, right enough, ma’am. An’ I’m won- derin’ about him—wonderin’ what he’d want me to do.” “Yes,” she said, her hand still on his forehead; “I’ve heard you talk about Larry. It was while the fever had you. He was your friend, and somebody killed him. Wasn’t that it?” He was trying to see her face, but the light was behind her, and the luminous haze that came into the room from the window was not sufficient. His eyes were glowing with curiosity and eagerness. “T talked, eh—talked about Larry. Did you hear me mention who killed him?”’ “No.” ‘““ Anybody: else hear me talk about Larry?” | “Only myself.” “Larry was my friend, ma’am.” He paused and groped for words, then went on: “ The man who killed him is still liv- in’. Do you reckon that’s right?” “Thou shalt not kill,” said the girl sol- emnly. ‘“‘ Are you sayin’ that, or are you repeat- in’ what somebody else said?” he asked gravely, for it seemed to him that the sen- tence was authoritative. “That is one of the commandments,” replied the girl. He smiled in the darkness, incredulously. “TI reckon the man who said it never hada friend murdered—a friend like Larry.” : ‘““The commandments are in the Bible.”’ He was silent long. Then he said slowly: “There was times when Larry talked about the Bible, ma’am. Do you reckon he believed that—about killin’?” “Tt is the law—-God’s and man’s,” she whispered. ‘‘ Some time—when you are better—I will show you. Go to sleep now.” ‘ All right, ma’am,” he said. And then, - as she went toward the door, he added: ‘Good night, ma’am.” ‘“* Good night,” she answered, and closed the door. For a long time he gazed out of the win- dow into the star-dotted blue of the sky. And after a while his thoughts resolved themselves into the spoken question, asked of the stars in a low, grave voice: ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, ‘““Do you reckon there’s only one right trail, after all, Larry?” CHAPTER XIII. BY RED KING’S SIDE. HORTY had been impressed with the S words spoken by Helen Kelton on the night he had regained consciousness. Somehow they had seemed to be invested with a solemn meaning which had had a direct, personal application. ~They had seemed to come, dignified by a strange, compelling simplicity, just in time to bid him pause to wonder if Larry would have counseled the vengeance he meditated. Larry, he knéw, had been impressionable, imaginative and religious. There had been times when he had watched Larry reading, marveling at the man’s application and in- terest in a thing that he—Shorty—had al- — ways considered superfluous. His own creed was founded upon the principle of square dealing and of honesty, and he had always felt it to be sufficient. — However, he had never talked the mat- ter over with Larry, nor had he questioned the wisdom of his friend’s reading. It was y not a matter for advice or interference. But one thing he had noticed; that read- ing the Bible had seemed to have a calming effect upon his friend; it had seemed to make him impervious to the ordinary ir- tations of life; had brought to him a grave imperturbability, a serenity remarkable for its steadfast durability. Larry had always seemed undisturbed by adversity, and unconcerned to the point of contempt for danger. There had been ‘times when Shorty had read into his friend’s habit of squinting his eyes a humorous de- fiance of death. For he had seen that squint in Larry’s eyes more than once, when death seemed to confront him. And so he wondered whether Larry would approve of his idea of vengeance, and as the days fled and he reflected upon Helen Kelton’s words, he found himself unde- cided. On the night Helen had talked to him about Larry, he had been impressed with her words. However, he had believed thes, - C 6)(0)©) KS (C(CO)INN) (C(O) nn