Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 27, 1925 — page 50: what you’re looking at

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

1 was guing to open it and blow us all up unless he did the right thing. So he di- vided evenly. Millions! Millions!” “ You got millions?” they asked eagerly. “He gave me a check. I mailed it to myself there.” giggled Monty foolishly. The gunman gave a despairing wail. “What did I tell you? A nut!” be mourned. ‘The whole thing looked like a nut’s scheme from the start. This bird has gone cuckoo over his troubles, and we fell for it. Put that damn suit case on something soft.” “ Aw, he may be faking to stall us,” ob- jected the other man. ‘He's crazy as a loon, I tell you,” cried the gunman. ‘ Why, the whole business is crazy, can’t you see? Don’t you open that thing! He may be faking, but—safety first. You can open it, if you want to, but not now, not in this steel bus, If you guessed wrong, we'd be collected with a vacuum cleaner. Wait till we get to the —up there, and then you can soak it a while before opening the thing. Maybe youre right,. but if you ain’t we'll never know it, if you go opening it now.” “T1 open it for you—and we'll end our troubles,” offered Monty, pawing around blindly behind himself with his bound hands. “ Stop it, or Il feed you a steel pill,” threatened the gunman with his usual me- tallic emphasis. ‘‘ Chief, lemme croak this nut before he blows us all up. He's a white elephant to us now, and dangerous.” “You croak him and you'll follow bi. ” warned the other. ‘ Dead, he’d be worth- Jess to us. As it is, we’re going to cash in on him a good deal stronger than the ten grand he may or may not have. What do you suppose we're lugging him off for when we could have beat it?” ‘Well, Mr. Bones, what are you simps carting me around for?” demanded Monty. “We're going to hold you for ransom,” announced the “ chief.” VI. “Wat do you think I am, a golden- haired cheeild?” demanded Monty indig- nantly. “Don’t you know that nothing ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. but golden-haired cheeilds are kidnaped for ransom?” “You'll be the white-haired boy before we give you up,” promised the man calleq chief. “‘ What’s ten thousand compared to what your brother will have to shell out to get you back?” “ My brother? Yow! That’s rich,” chor- tled Monty. “ Why, he’d pay you to keep me. Be yourself!” “ Aw, tune out on him,” muttered the bedeviled chief. A moment later a rope was looped around Monty’s head, and his jaws were forced open long enough to jam in the sacking which then was reénforced by the cord, making an effectual gag. This proved complete disarmament for the talkative prisoner and brought peace to his jailers. “Why didn’t we do that before?” grunt- ed the chief. “He sure had me goofy with his gab.” “At that, it may have saved us from being blown sky-high,” his companion re- minded him uneasily. “I don’t feel com- fortable with a bug.” They rode in silence for half an hour longer. Then the red van halted, ma- neuvered and backed. A muffled rumbling rising from beneath the vehicle made Monty believe they were on a bridge or a pier. The two occupants of the van’s in- terior got out and signaled the driver for backing. “Right back to the deck house door, back away,” ordered the chief. Then Monty knew they were on a pier or string- piece. He heard the man in charge ad- dress the driver as ‘ Bat” and the eun- man as ‘‘ Paul” and “ Marto.”” When the van had been backed to suit, the three men carried Monty from his steel prison. “Take that bus up in the Bronx or somewhere and lose it,” ordered the chief. “Then call up this number and give ’em our ultimatum. Hurry, now. When you get done, join us here or row out.” They locked the door of the room or compartment in which they had dumped Monty unceremoniously on the floor. He could feel a gentle nse and fall which be- trayed that they were afloat. A lantern was lighted, and the chief spoke, COnniEaoo SS Co