Argosy All-Story Weekly, March 15, 1924 — page 23: what you’re looking at

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

THE CONFIDENCE MAN. around -with you as if we had been little pals from birth. Don’t spoil it.” ‘* Hell,” said Maddox blithely. “I didn’ t go to ruffle you up.” “No, Well, don’t go to ruffle up the natives around here, either. That’s what I mean by not spoiling it. If you try any of the old bunkum in this village, one of us goes home to New York; and home for me is right here, until the fall snes in hokum are called for.” With these words the Great Conan Jeisurely lit a cigarette. The Snake’s face fell. “ Watdyermean, chief? Not string these hicks while the stringin’ is good? For the love of Mike, you don’t expect to let ’em all go by?” Corvan smiled at him through the ciga- rette smoke. “ Right by,” he said. {’ve looked .the ground over.’’ ‘ Anyway, until He frowned. “ You're not. fool enough to suppose that . we've taken this place and put in a plant for the sake of playing a lot of hicks with‘ a cold deck, are you? It’s the big stuff for the winter we’re after, and we can't build a reputation on loaded dice. You’re going to be a good little boy while you’re here.” He paused for the fraction of a second, only to swoop neatly in again, as Maddox opened his mouth to reply. ‘I wouldn't be surprised you might go in for the Boy Scouts or something,”. he conjectured. The Snake’s eyes opened wide with the expression of a hurt child. “ Aw, chief!” he exclaimed. ‘Or help out on some farm,” Corvan. | Maddox tilted his-head on one side with unbelieving ears. S “ But, chief, you ain’t got me!” he pro- tested. Then he sprang into sudden actton. He leaped across to the archway, and, after carefully shaking out the draperies, drew them discreetly across the opening. From the archway he glided over to a door which led to the rear. This he opened without rattling the latch, and, after inspecting the corridor behind it, as carefully closed. Then he approached Corvan with elaborate quiet, ‘and indicated by a gesture that he was to sit upon the davenport. continued assured him. -hicks who aren’t dead or crazy are ripe.” 651 Corvan obeyed, watching his companion with narrowed eyes, and Maddox seated himself upon the extreme edge of the daven- port beside him. The Snake then spoke, assuming a remarkable grimace whereby it appeared that only that side of his face nearest Corvan was speaking; and ‘he fur- ther excluded the other side of his face by curving his hand across the middle of his mouth and shutting it entirely from view. Thus his low voice might be said to have achieved the utmost in confidentialness. ‘“ Chief,” he whispered, “I got ’em all lined up. There ain’t nothing *to it. Nothing! See?’’ As he spoke, he insin- uated himself closer to Corvan’s side. Corvan almost indiscernibly moved away from his informant, and, taking the dia- mond scarf pin from his necktie, put it in his pocket. _ | ‘Nothing to what?” he asked coldly. Without removing his hand or returning his mouth to normal, Maddox managed to express injured innocence. ‘“ The natives,” he continued, deeply ear- nex. “I got ’em all lined up. The old lady give me the dope, an’ I been lookin’ things over.’ “ The old lady?” “Sure. Mrs. Bland. It’s like this— see?—the hicks down here are all dead or Crazy, and the ones what ain’t are ripe for | Corv an found it necessary to move again, and found himself firmly against the ma- hogany end of the davenport. He made the best of this by buttoning up his coat and placing both his hands in his outside pockets. “ Ripe?” he queried. “ Aw, lay off, chief!” whispered Maddox. “T ain’t takin’ anything that belongs to you. » Corvan grinned. ‘Merely an instinctive precaution,” he “You were saying that the Maddox returned to his subject. “Sure.” His inflections in the use of this word were various, but he invariably in- sinuated’ with it a rare sense of conviction. ‘“ Sure,” he said. ‘‘ Old Humphrey is ripe as a canned tomato. He owns about half COMNMUC NOOKS CO