Argosy All-Story Weekly, March 15, 1924 — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

YOUNG “that girl’? wasn’t good enough for Jim- mie. Well, this Jimmie was a nice boy, and he was head over heels in love. do nothing with a boy like that. ‘‘ Mother,” said Jimmie, “ I don’t want to hurt you; but I am going to marry Miss Harrison. Nothing shall stop me. If you will not receive her in your house, that will be your loss. J will never give her up.” Old stuff, of course, but always new, and still newer to a doting mother. Well, there . wasn’t no tears from Elizabeth. Hardly! Think Elizabeth would let that girl make her cry? Elizabeth was an aristocrat, and no aristocrat cries because ordinary folks seems to have all the trumps for a minute. { seen a play once with French aristocrats in it.. Elizabeth had it on ’em. — “My son,” shé said, her head in the air, “it’s your mother or that girl.” Jimmie took his hat, bowed, and said, “ Good-by, mother,” and went away from the big house that Bob built. Wherever Bob was about then, mebbe he chuckled. It’s within the possibilities that Eliz-. abeth had a little private cry after the de- parture of her son. _I dunno what an aris- tocrat is like when she is all by her lone- some. Mebbe she gets human. However, our aristocrat-didn’t relent. She had one or two women pals that she talked to with- out looking like she. was going to snap their heads off, and it may be that she broke to them the news of her intentions toward ~ Jimmie. Anyhow, the village soon knowed that Jimmie’s name no longer adorned Eliz- abeth’s will. Jimmie was adrift with ten thousand of his.own money and the niftiest little bride the world ever gazed upon. Oh, ves, they was married. After Jimmie left his mother seemed like he and Sadie could not get married quick enough. Events happened fast then. Jimmie bought a new bungalow that a man had built when he decided to live in town after he had sold his farm. He lived there a week or so, and then went back to another farm. He had seen the evening train come in six times, and that was sufficient. It was never no different one time from an- other time, except that it was generally a little later than usual. You can’t | REBELS, 667 Well, Jimmie and Mrs. Jimmie moved into the new bungalow and bought a grand outfit of furniture from Riggs Brothers, in- cluding a fine phonograph, and settled down to married life. Elizabeth met Mrs. Jimmie on the street and wouldn’t speak to her, and Mrs. Jimmie twisted her red lips and sailed by. Elizabeth met Jimmie on the street and would not speak to him, and Jimmie had a pained look in his young eyes. And out- side of that everything went as merry as a wedding bell. Well, it was about the time that Ehiz- . abeth was struck dumb on them two occa- sions that Elizabeth first called on me. The weather had warmed up, and I was smoking my pipe on the porch and staying awake because a man can stay awake in spring- _time better ’n in the heat of summer. Elizabeth come up on the porch, and I handed a chair to her, and she set down. “Mr. Tom Hill,” she said, ‘ would you like to earn a little extra money in the next few months?” “Oh, I don’t know,” says I. “ The hot spell wil be coming along pretty:soon, and I am tolerable busy as it is. I’m getting along in years, you know, and my job of town marshal is about all I want to han- die.” “But this would be easy work, right in your line,” she says. ‘‘ I suppose you could use a little extrarmoney, Mr. Tom Hill?” “I ain’t got no financial worries,” says I. “T ain’t rich, nor yet am I poor. I got enough to carry me through my days and bury me when J die. That is about as comfortable a state of affairs for a fat man as I know about.” “YT had hoped that you would serve me,” says she. ‘ We have known each other for many years, Mr. Tom Hill.” I had a notion to tell her that there had been a considerable of an interruption in our acquaintance, but I held my tongue. I am fat and old and not very good looking, and she was an aristocrat. What was the use of me bothering about her? “ Why,” says I, “if you wish me to do you a favor, ma’am, I’d be only too glad to.” She stiffens up in her chair, sticks her left hand out straight and twines the fin- 4. CONNMEMOOOK et |