Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

684 had risen to remark what he had to say, saw the beginning of operations. The Bomeisler bill provided that on Sundays, Boynton engage two special motorcycle officers at five dollars a day to break up speeding through the borough streets. The appointments fell to Bob Acorn and Luke Pruitt, both of whom had motorcycles and were even more eager for the badge of au- thority than the monetary emolument. But there was another necessary factor in the situation! The court — Recorder Purdy. | So about ten o’clock on that bright Sun- day morning, the speed trap was set by Boynton. The borough had three men of the hour: Young Acorn, Luke Pruitt, and Henry Purdy—and the greatest of these was Purdy. Isn’t there something in the witches’ prologue of ‘‘ Macbeth ” about the watched pot never boiling? Well, no matter, watched motorists won’t speed. Acorn and Pruitt may have had the wrong tech- nique, and motorists may have speed, but at any rate (over the prescribed fifteen miles an hour) Bob and Luke. couldn’t catch them at it. The forenoon wore away, and Purdy, impatient after his morning of vain waiting, went home for Sunday din- ner. He ate, at any moment expecting to hear the call of public duty. But there was no interruption, and he returned to the court-room in the borough hall to find that nothing had happened. Bomeisler, uncomfortably aware that he stood in need of vindication, had been hoev- ering around all day, Purdy and he having established headquarters in the committee- room that opened off the council chamber where court. was held. Every time an au- tomobile approached the borough hail, they would listen for it to stop, as if at the direction of Acorn or Pruitt. About two o'clock Jordan and Cunning- ham dropped in. “Looks as if we’ve given Bob and Luke presents of five dollars,” observed Jordan. Bomeisler squirmed. — “Wait,” he said, but somehow not very confidently. “Yes, the day isn’t over yet,” put in Purdy, coming to the defense of the heck- N None did. . ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, led Bomeisler. “ Something’s likely to turn up any minute. And I can tell you that any of them brought in here will get the full limit of the law.” Then the whole dis- cussion started over again. It was fourteen minutes after four by the clock in the committee-room when the ex- pected but despaired of happened. Cun- ningham, who had been sitting at the win- dow, jumped up with a shout that he had seen Pruitt convoying a car up to the door of the borough hall. They all were on their feet. ‘You stay here,” said Bomeisler excit- edly, restraining Purdy from following Cunningham and Jordan out of the ante- room into the council chamber where Pruitt would produce the prisoners. “ Over to the court-house in Morristown,” explained Bomeisler, “ the judge never comes out of his chambers until the court-room is ‘“‘ Give ’em the limit!” was the council- man’s parting urge. The recorder smiled " feassuringly as he straightened the- collar that looked as if it had been tossed over his head and settled to his shoulders, like a ring at a cane and knife rack. Henry Purdy’s hour had come. Now, if never before, he was first m Boynton; let his status in New York be what it might. There. was a rap on the door. As Purdy approached the portal in re- sponse to the summons, Bomeisler’s voice announced ceremoniously: “ The prisoners are in court.” Purdy, trying to repress a smile of satisfaction,-epened the door and stopped as if shot. | Pruitt’s prisoners were Summers and -young Mr. Denton. When the managing vice-president of the Cataract Fire Hose Corporation saw his. old employee in the doorway, his face lighted up. Purdy indistinctly heard Sum- mers greet him with a cordial “ Hell-o-0-0, Purdy!” But he was more concerned with the kind of figure he was cutting in front of Bomeisler, Jordan, Cunningham, and Luke Pruitt. 4 Purdy managed to get out an uncertain “ Good afternoon, Mr. Summers,” and nodded toward young Denton, who was togged out in golfing tweeds. 6)(0)©) KS sal (C(O) (A) (C(O) nn