Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 155: what you’re looking at

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

_—_— of de odder fences do, an’ dat ticker-repair- in’ job is a hell of a good blind.” He paused and the inspector shook his head, carefully avoiding McCarty’s gaze. CHAPTER XXXIV. GREEN FIRE. *“WT’S nothing to you how we get our dope, Joe. Go on with your story, and mind you give it to us straight!” — “ De minute I got mime I beat it across de street to Kosakoff’s place, like I’m tellin’ youse,” Bodansky went on hurriedly with an injured air. ‘It was late an’ he was just puttin’ up his shutters, but I flashed me twenty an’ he let me in. He was gettin’ de bracelet dut of de window when de door Opens an’ in comes a regulap, swell. He’s got his lid pulled down over his eyes an’ his coat-collar turned up like he’s scared of Somebody seein’ him, an’ right away I says to myself: ‘ Dis Kosakoff’s a fence, all right, . an’ dat guy’s some high-class crook.’ “* Kosakoff gives him de o-o and shoves de bracelet into my mitt, walkin’ quick around ‘de coumter, but de guy looks up an’ I see he’s no crook. He don’t seem to see me at all, but he turns up his nose like de joint was dirt an’ old Kosakoff a dog. I’m pretendin’ to be lampin’ de brace- let, see, but I’m wisin’ myself up to de layout. Old Kosakoff has got de guy’s number all right an’ he’s tryin’ to get him off down de odder end of de store so’s I won’t pipe what’s goim’ on, but I edges along, too, an’ I hears de guy say some- tin’ about ‘tirty t’ousand’ an’ I t’inks I’m goin’ dippy! “Old Kosakoff don’t turn a hair, dough; he’s busy openin’ a door at de back of de store when all of a sudden de guy pulls somet’in’ out of his coat-pocket just as if it was a handful of junk an’ I see a flash of green fire dat would knock your lamps out! Kosakoff turned round den an’ grabbed him by de arm an’ hauled him into de back room, but I’m still foolin’ wit’ de bracelet when dey come out. Kosakoff goes to de door wit’ him an’ says: ‘ Good night, Mr. Crawford. Call again.’ “De guy’s no sooner gone den I flings 10 A a HOW MANY CARDS? 21 down my twenty iron men an’ grabs de bracelet an’ beats it. Old Kosakoff tries to stall me, see, but I’m on my way, an’ I trails dis guy to—to de house where youse caught me last week.” “How did you know that he lived there?” the inspector asked. ‘Cause he could have made it straight from Thoid to Fift’ an’ den up, but instead of dat he dodges nort’ an’ den sout’ an’ back an’ t’rough again, lookin’ behind all de toime an’ I knew de signs; many’s de toime I dodges de bulls de same way, only he’s an amateur, see, an’ he don’t get on to it dat I’m trailin’ him. He hits Fift’ at last ’way above his house an’ den he t’inks he’s clear, an’ he beats it home an’ opens de door wit’ his own key. I spots de number an’ de general lay an’ chases back to me own hang-out. I couldn’t fig- ger whedder he’d lifted dem green stones or was just out of dough an’ ashamed to have anybody know he was partin’ wit’ some of his own, but I t’ought dere ’d be more where t’irty t’ousand wort’ came from. I made up my mind dat I’d work alone _an’ make a haul dat ’d open de lamps of de gang, an’ I been: watchin’ de house off an’ on ever since den. De window bein’ open dat night last week was just plain luck, for I’d brought me keys wit’ me to try on de little side door. Honest t’ Gawd, IT was workin’ alone an’ Kosakoff don’t know I’m wise to him.” _“ Qh, can that!” McCarty put in before the inspector could speak. ‘“ You didn’t quit cold on Kosakoff until you had the goods on him! When did you wise yourself up that he was as big a fence as he is?” Bodansky hesitated, running the tip of his tongue along his thin, bloodless lips and glancing quickly from one to the other. Then a sly grin broke over his face. ‘ Youse got me right,” he admitted. ‘“‘ No guy dat run a dump like dat, sellin’ cheap sparklers an’ fixin’ broke tickers for a liv- in’ could grab a tirty t’ousand deal wit’- our battin’ an eye, an’ why would dat swell guy have come dere unless he’d been tipped off? I figgers dat maybe I can get in on Kosakoff’s game wit’ him, but I lays off him quick meself when I dopes out who his pals is. I got plenty sense to know when (C(O) nn) G 6)(0)©) S