Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 13, 1925 — page 85: what you’re looking at

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

BLACK OR BLUE. 507 young man’s blunt face lighten as this feel- ing overcame him, and he liked the resolute set of the firm lips, the uptilt of Bud Halli- day’s nose; he liked the even, unperturbed line into which the wide brow settled as Bud Halliday, foreseeing trouble, deter- mined to cope with it. ‘This looks bad, Bud.’’ The old man’s high tenor voice pierced the early morning stillness of the office with a clamor that accentuated the fact that they were alone. ‘ Bud looked up from his paper with his unfailing grin. ‘‘ Forewarned’s forearmed,” he said, and spoke as though in response to a challenge. ~ “Wouldn’t be surprised you’d better let Stockbridge an’ some of his men take the pay roll up to Clay City to-morrow,” sug- gested Moon. Bud’s lips drew tightly across his teeth. “As long as I’m paymaster here, Mr. Moon,” he said, ‘‘ the company funds will always go over to Clay City in my personal charge.” | Old Moon frowned. “Tt’s twenty thousand dollars,” he pointed out. Bud arose and addressed him steadily. ‘“You mean Stockbridge is more likely to keep it safe than I am?” “Well, he’s the sheriff now, Bud. Seems like to me, it’s up to him to see the law ain’t broke.” The old man spoke very carefully, measuring his words. But Bud ignored those words. He continued with the thread of his own thought. ‘“You’re wrong. Think it over and you'll see that you’re wrong!” he cried. “For three months they’ve been hunting for this Conway guy, and Grover gave Stockbridge his word that if he wasn’t caught we’d have a new sheriff. You know that what Grover says goes, and so does Stockbridge. | So what does your sheriff do? He gives out that Conway got out of the country—driven out by the sheriff T suppose!” Bud's voice became as sar- castic as was possible in the face of his grin. ‘ And Conway proves how far away he’s been by sticking up old Grover himself and telling him to call off his sheriff and put him to bed. That would be a fine man to very protect your twenty thousand dollars!’”’ He turned back to the paper with a snort. “Yes it would!” He finished witheringly. Moon grinned appreciatively. No Prairie Grass man has ever heard the rival town of Clay City derided with regret, and Stock- bridge was a Clay City product. “Conway might have been out of the country at that,” he protested. ‘“ Then how did he know Grover was out to get him?” The old man’s doubt nettled Bud. ‘“ You can bet he didn’t hold Grover up just to pick his pocket. It was like that letter he wrote to the paper. He just wanted to show Grover he was here to stay till he got that pay roll. Well, watch him get it! I’m not trusting Stockbridge to bungle this job for me, and I’m not asking help from anybody except myself. If I need men I'll call for them. If I need the sheriff I'll let him know. This is my job now, Mr. Moon, and if you want to put that pay roll in any- body else’s hands you'll have to fire me and get a new paymaster before that money arrives to-night!” He stopped short, and above the grin his eyes sparkled ominously; for old Moon was serious no longer, he was chuckling. “Think it over!” snapped Bud; and without waiting for a reply, he slammed out of the office. II. THe streets of Prairie Grass are treeless and rolling, for it is not more than a collec- tion of buildings reared on the open prairie. That one street which begins at the depot and ends at the Grover House (for Marion’s father owned the hotel as well as the sheriff) 1s devoid of even such sparse shrub- beries as bedeck the residential byways of the town, for it is paved with cement and hedged with brick. It is called Main Street. Bud Halliday, emerging from the offices of the Consolidated Mines, found himself seared and blinded by the harsh, devouring sunlight of a summer morning. He also found himself confronted by Stockbridge, the sheriff. “Good morning, officer of the peace. brewin’. Bud,” drawled the “Seems there’s trouble Need any help?” CO NOOKS Cc (0) mm