Argosy All-Story Weekly — 'The Metal Monster' — page 160: what you’re looking at

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

154 Personally I wouldn’t have fretted much if we’d guaranteed to forfeit a million. In the first place we didn’t have a million, and in the second place, I knew we weren't taking a single chance. You understand, I had a lot of confidence in Abdul—that wa Then Aleck broached the matter of terms. ‘All right,” said Aleck. “ And now as to terms. We'll pay you fifty dollars a week, and—” “ Where do you ret that stuff?” Tiny cut in with a ing snarl that showed his splendid teeth to great advantage, and at the same time handing Aleck a look that seared him to the bone. - “ One hundred bucks a week and expenses—that's what I work for.” Aleck: loosened his collar. “Why, certainly,” he laughed feebly. “ One hundred a week, of course. Wasn’t | that what I said? You must have mis- understood me.’ Shortly afterward Aleck’s little friend from the fareaway Orient took himself off. When I was dead sure he’d gone— “ Aleck,” said I, “I don’t know why, But somehow I’ve got a hunch that I ain’t going to like that fellow. There’s some- thing about him that don’t appeal to me so much. And what’s more, I think we’re poing to have trouble with him. ” : “ [ve seen people that I liked better my- self,” Aleck admitted. Well, Aleck started in at once to feature Abdul on the billboards, and once more the box-office began to take on signs of life. Quite a number of ambitious but misguided athletes stacked themselves up one by one against Tiny, and Tiny crashed each and every one of ’em with grace and precision, and well inside the stipulated twenty miin utes. To tell the truth—and maybe this will explain, too, how Abdul the tiny Turk affected Aleck and me—and he affected us strongly—not one of those well-developed but well-minded persons that went up against Abdul stood a single, solitary, smali chance with him. | : You see, they’d come on the stage filled to the brim with that turn-me-loose feeling’ and eager for the fray. Abdul would start ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. looking ’em over, and right then their con- fidence would begin leaking out an inch deep all over the floor. And then, when Abdul really came at ’em, their legs would turn to water, and they’d suffer a lot of other alarming symptoms, and what re- mained for Abdul to do was a mere matter of form, and he did it. Yes, Abdul in action was a picture that not even a mother could love, and more especially so if you happened to think that Abdul was coming your way. Abdul had made a great impression on Aleck and me when we first met him, and after seeing several of Abdul’s performances, both Aleck and I came to. the conclusion that we were satisfied with the impression already made. We felt that we were already sufficiently ‘Impressed, and we made up our minds that it would be a good plan to see to it that Abdul didn’t impress us any more—any more definitely, anyway. We thought we’d a lot rather have him for 2 friend that an enemy, in fine. I think it was about two weeks after Abdul joined the show that, one night after the evening’s performance, Abdul fixed Aleck with a glittering eye or two, and without further preamble spoke as follow: “TI gotta have more money. One-fifty “ ' Anything to oblige,”’ said Aleck with- out a moment’s hesitation. ‘“ You get it.” A fortnight later something pretty similar happened. — “ve been thinking things over,” Abdul informed Aleck, “and I gotta have more money. Two hundred per.” Aleck looked at Abdul, and Abdul looked at Aleck, and the Abduls had it by a large majority. “You win,” said Aleck. “ Aleck,” said I, “in my opinion that large Oriental gent has got you buffaloed, and it’s costing us money, and also—say, where’s your self-respect? Or ain’t -you got any. Anyhow, one -word from Abdul and you do as he pleases. Anyhow, that’s the way it looks. The next time he braces you for a raise, if you ain’t got sand enough to turn him down, leave him to me. Believe me, I'll tell him where he gets off!” _ “Yi do that,” said Aleck, and right away ECORNIC OOS SH Colin