Argosy All-Story Weekly, March 15, 1924 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

YOUNG “Sixteen dollars and twenty cents,” he says. | ‘“ Flow much stock will I own in the store when I pay that?” says Sadie. “None,” Jimmie snaps. “I am _ the sole proprietor and owner of this place.” Sadie opens her purse and counts the money in it. I see by the look on her face that she hasn’t quite enough. She turns to me and her smile is fair bewitching. ‘‘ Would you be honored to Iend me sev- enty cents, Mr, Fom Hill?” she asks. Dog-gone her pretty ‘eyes, she was threat- ening me, threatening to reveal that I had already made an investment in her direc- tion. I got up quick and fished a dollar from my pocket. Jimmie, from the look on his face, seemed to be entertainin’ forty Intentions all at once, but he didn’t act on none of them. He just took Sadie’s money, including my dollar, and made. the change. Sadie handed thirty cents to me, and [ had a feeling that there was something sionificant in the amount. I went back to my chair and sat down. ‘Sitting down had never been quite so wel- come. J kept my eyes on Sadie. She placed a hand on her hip, lifted her head, and smiled, looking beyond her husband. ‘“ Will you be so kind as to phone to the garage for my car?” she inquires, “ Your—your car?” Jimmie gasps. “My car,” she repeats. “I was in- formed two days ago that I had a car. Of course, if I have not—”’ . And she give her shoulders a ens like a heroine in a moving picture. “ Why—er—yes, of course,” gasps. “ Certainly, madam.” He phones to the garage and they send up the new boat. “ Will you be so good’ as to put my gro- ceries in the care” Sadie asks. Jimmie done it. Sadie waited just where she had been standing. ‘“T can’t drive my car,” Sadie says when Jimmie come back. ‘‘ That is to say, I don’t drive my car. I don’t know where my driver is. When I came in here £ no- ticed a young man disappear toward the rear. If he can drive this car, please have him do so.” Jimmie REBELS. 695 Again Jimmie: flew signals of several in: tentions, but. finally he took off his apron and put on his cap. ‘ Vl drive the car,” he says, sullen; and he waited for her to start for the door. “ Trot right along,’”’ says Sadie, flippant. ‘T have some other shopping to do. It’s a mercy that I can get credit at the other: stores. I live at No. 20 Woodward Ave- nue. Please deliver at the rear door. My maid will take the things. Please do not blunder in the delivering. I need the gro-~ ceries. I am entertaining this evening.” Jimmie nearly dropped the basket he had picked up, but. he caught a new grip on it midway to the floor and toted it ‘out to the. buggy. When he had drove away, ‘Sadie turned to me. ‘“ Have you a peneil, Mr. Tom Hall?” she asks. I give her a pencil, and she tore-off a piece of wrapping paper and wrote on it. she put the paper on the counter and re- turned my pencil to me. Then she bade me good day and floated out of the store. Jimmie was. back in a few minutes. “Using a boat like that for a delivery truck,” he said, getting into his apron. “ Huh!” : “The lady left a note for you on the counter,” says I. He pounced on the note like it was a grasshopper ready to hop. He read it through eager and then he turned his eyes on me. I looked down at my right shoe. “T better be gettin’ over to the shoe- - maker’s and have a patch put on that place,” says I. ‘‘ The seam is ripped, I noticed this morning when I put that shoe on. 3 “ Just a minute,” Jimmie snapped, He went to the cash register and took out some money, a bill and some change.. He brought the money over to me and held it out. I knew no bluff outa go. money. ‘If you were younger I’d bust you wide, Hill,” Jimmie grated. Well, I have heard a considerable of that kind of talk in my lifetime, and I ain’t over~ ly fond of it. “Tf I was younger you couldn’t,” says. T took the CoOnniclooe@ @ S