The Argosy, November 1908 — page 69: what you’re looking at

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

AN ELUSIVE LEGACY. seen him when he come in this morning, a hoofin’ it over the trail.” ““A hobo, eh? How about it, Avery? I didn’t know you had gone into the busi- ness of harboring tramps.” é “Nor I ain’t, neither,” protested Avery, with a vehement shake of the head. “TI ain’t a denyin’ that the gent here looked pretty seedy when he come ; but what with him a payin’ in advance, an’ a tellin’ me that he was on a walkin’ tower, I—”’ But the rest of Avery’s excuse was lost in a storm of derisive laughter, and Jones’s lip curled. “ Pshaw !”’ he exclaimed, ‘‘ it’s as plain as the nose on one’s face. The man is simply a faker, who thought he could reap a harvest by coming here and palm- ing himself off as a hero.” “But the eight dollars he paid me,” broke in Avery. ‘“ That don’t look much like a hobo.” “Oh, that was only to make his game good and strong. Most of these fellows have some cash stowed away that they can draw on in case necessity arises. He’s a tramp, I tell you; just a common: tramp !” “If you would only let me explain!” urged Dick, striving to make himself heard above the babel of voices, “I think—”’ But Avery turned on him with a silencing scowl. “Shut up, you fool,” he muttered. ‘““Less heard from you right now the better. They're gittin’ mad _ clean through, an’ ef you happen to rile ’em up any more, they’re liable to go after you blood-raw.”’ : Indeed, the justice of this warning was plain from the fact that several menacing rushes had already been made toward the corner as though to seize upon the prisoner. These had only been stayed by the determined manner in which the landlord brandished his bung- starter. The air, too, was filled with vengeful cries of “ Lynch him!” “String him up!” “ Tar and feather him!” “ Ride him on a rail!” It was plain that only a leader was needed to start mischief. But Ralph Jones had no intention of letting matters reach a crisis. Pushing 635 Avery to one side, he himself took a stand in front of Behan. “Stand back there, boys,’ he ordered, turning his lapel and flashing his badge at them. ‘“ The law requires me to pre- vent violence, and protect even such ver- min as this.” He paused a second while his eyes sought Lank Rake’s with the question: ‘Ts everything ready?” then, at a reas- suring nod from his subordinate, he con- tinued : “It goes against my“grain; but in the position I hold, I can’t stand for any- thing different. Seeing that I am here, this hobo is going to have fifteen min- utes to clear. After that, I am going home, and if any of you get him, you can do what you please. I wash my hands of further responsibility.” Seizing Dick by the arm, he shouldered a way through the press, and thus con- ducted his charge to the front door. The crowd made a move as if to fol- low; but Jones whirled about on them with a drawn revolver in either hand. “No, you don’t!” he exclaimed. ‘‘ Not a man leaves this room until the fifteen minutes is up!” Then he released his hold on Behan and pushed him across the threshold. ** Skiddoo, Bo!” he cried with mock- ing intonation. “ Pull your freight!” CHAPTER XI. HARE AND HOUNDS. For a moment Dick paused, blinking his eyes in the unlighted darkness of the village street. The whole thing seemed unreal to him, fantastic as the topsy-turvy inci- dents of a nightmare, and he half expect- ed to find himself waking up to the prosaic surroundings of his New York bed-chamber. But, as he stood there, a fresh burst of clamor and cursing swept out to him from the noisy barroom, and_ brought home to him with stern significance the reality of his peril. In fifteen minutes, that drunken, law- less crew, blind to reason or to argu- ment, would be turned loose to search for him, and from what he had seen of their temper, he knew it would wo betide = CommiclOOkS.Conm