The Argosy, November 1908 — page 65: what you’re looking at

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

AN ELUSIVE LEGACY. “No, boss, ‘tain’t no boys this time; but a full-growed man, an’ a stranger at that.” . “A stranger?’ with an unmistakable start. “Yep, a feller that looks like a sure- enough hobo, but what’s down to the Palace Hotel now, an’ has give up cight dollars fer his board an’ keep. Jack Avery says he’s a tenderfoot on a walkin’ tower through the mountings; but ef that’s so, what was he doin’ half a mile off’n the trail down at the mouth of the ravine? I didn’t see him go in there, but I seen him come out, an’ he sure did have a sneaky look to him.” ‘“ H’m,” young Jones frowned. “ Still,” he admitted, “it may be all right. A pe- destrian not knowing the country, might easily stray off down there, and, if he was a tenderfoot, not recognize that there was anything doing.” “Yes, but how about this?” queried Lank Rake, producing Dick’s telegram with a flourish, and handing it over. The superintendent ran his eye quick- ly through the message, his brow darken- ing with a malevolent scowl. “Richard Behan!” he exclaimed, as he came to the signature. ‘‘ Why, that is the chap father wired me to look out for and take care of when he should ar- rive. But who would ever have expected him to come in across the trail. “He must have smelled a mouse and dropped off the train at Red Dog. But to do it without a guide, and— “Ha!” with a sudden thought. “ This is ‘ Behave,’ not ‘ Behan.’ The telegraph operator got it wrong in father’s mes- sage, just as we got it wrong here. This is none other than the duck who stopped the hold-up last night, and who left the plausible note saying he had hot-footed it back Fast. “And now he has ‘undoubted evi- dence of crooked dealing,’ eh?” glancing once more at the telegram, “and is ‘going to lay it before Prentice’ ? “Well,” and Jones’s white teeth showed in a sinister smile, ‘‘ I don’t think he will; not ‘immediately’ at any rate.” ‘What are you goin’ to do?” ques- tioned Lank Rake. ‘Send a couple of the boys up to the hotel to kidnap him like we did that other short-horn that come pesterin’ round? 631 “T kin do it slick as a whistle,” he added eagerly. “I’ve got the job of deliverin’ his trunk from Avery, an’ ef I take one of the gang with me, we kin grab him an’ git away with him afore he eyer suspicions that thar is anything up.” Jones thoughtfully stroked his chin as he considered the proposition. “No,” he decided at length, “ toorisky. You know how hard it was to convince Avery on that other deal, and I doubt if we could pull the wool over his eyes a second time. “Besides, you forget that I am a deputy sheriff new,” pulling back his lapel with a mocking grin to show the little silver badge upon its under side, “responsible for the maintenance of law and order in this community.” Lank Rake stared at his companion, frankly puzzled. ‘‘ Yer don’t mean that yer goin’ to let this maverick beller what he’s found out all over the range? ”’ “Oh, no, we'll muzzle him all right; but we’ll muzzle him in such a way that there’ll be no inconvenient questions asked. This deal is going to be played strictly according to Hoyle. Listen.” And then, lowering his voice, he out- lined in a few, crisp sentences the plan wnich had suggested itself to him. Lank Rake stood listening, and as the other’s purpose became clear, nodded his head from time to time in approval. “Good,” he ejaculated at length, em- phasizing his commendation with a ‘copious expectoration of tobacco-juice. “I’m to have two men stationed on every trail leadin’ out of town, an’ six scattered along the railroad track. While you an’ me" “You and I, Lank,”’ grinned Jones, “will see that due attention is paid to the distinguished stranger within our gates. We will be the committee on entertainment! ”’ CHAPTER IX. ALL UNSUSPICIOUS. “ How soon will my trunk be along?” inquired Behan, after he had done full justice to the dinner provided by the Palace Hotel. The landlord thoughtfully calculated upon the amount of procrastination to be COMICHOOKS.COM