Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 2 — page 181: what you’re looking at

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

BEWARE OF Kratz, a costumer, stepped into Thomas’s home. a “ Why, Kratz!” gasped Thomas. “ Y’ain’t got it on yet! Thank the Lord for that, anyway!” said the costumer, who was altogether breathless. ‘‘ He’s back! I gotta have it quick!” “‘ Who’s—back?”’. “The gent that rented that armor suit, Mr. Henning!” Kratz puffed. “ Listen, Mr. Henning! Please don’t waste no time with: jokes, if that’s what you’re doing. Letting you have that suit put me in @ pretty awkward position, 1’m telling you! I had to spend two dollars for a taxi to get up here quick. “Where you got it? it yet, huh?” c¢ The—”’ “ Hey!” cried Mr. and Y’ain’t unpacked Kratz, as he per- ceived the figure in the armchair. “ What’s the big idea? You letting somebody else wear that suit? Well, wotta you know about that! “I wouldn’t ’a’ thought that o’ you, Mr. Henning—a man with your money splitting the expense of a costume at the cheap rate I hire ’em out! Well, that don’t make no difference, anyhow. Hey, young feller! Get out of that suit!” : He advanced upon the chair. He laid a - rough hand upon a shoulder-plate—and Thomas leaped forward and snatched it away. “ Here! Don’t do that!” he cried. can’t have that suit!’’ rT Why not?” “This friend—the man I lent it to—the man in there—he’s sick!” “Sick with what?” Kratz asked point- edly. “ They Thomas. now!” “They think—what?” gasped Kratz. “ Smallpox!” repeated Thomas. “ Get out of here, Kratz. It’s too bad—I under- stand that, but—” “It’s too bad you couldn’t ’a’ picked the kind o’ guy that would fall for that small- pox stuff!” Kratz said, roughly. ‘ Listen, . Mr. Henning! I wouldn’t ’a’ thought this 0’ you, but it don’t make no difference if “ You think it’s smallpox!” said “We're waiting for the doctor THE BRIDE. » 363 this man’s got leprosy! / gotta have that | “T tell you—”’ ‘You told me already. It didn’t get you nowhere,” said the costumer. ‘‘ We made a bargain when you rented that costume, Mr. Henning, that you was to give it back in case the gent that rented it first showed up and wanted it. Well, he just got back to Braydon and he’s figuring on going to that ball and getting into the fun before it’s time to unmask, and some o’ the things that gent said to me would ’a’ been grounds for murder—and he was right! “You help your friend out of that cos- tume and save me that much time, anyway. Where’s the box it came in?” He looked Thomas straight in the eye. Thomas, however, was calm again. There are some things that simply cannot be: this was one of them. | | “ Talk yourself hoarse, Kratz!” he said. “You can’t have it!” “ Say, if you—”’ “Let it go at that, Kratz! I’ve ex- plained. You can’t have it. What are you going to do about it?” His tone grew almost supercilious. He smiled at the humble costumer, who nar- rowed his eyes and gave an ugly smile of his own. “Say, listen!” said he. ‘You want to know what I’m going to do? I’m going to get that armor suit in less’n two minutes. And if it ain’t handed to me in that time, I’m going down-stairs and get a cop, and between that cop and me, we're going to pull my property off this guy and I’ll take it to the gent that rented it. See? “There’s your ten dollars! Take it! Now, what legal standing you got?” “ T—er—don’t know—”’’? mused Thomas. “ And I wanter tell you that: the cop 1 be my kid brother, that’s on duty outside that damned ball!” Kratz said in conclu- sion. ‘“ And he’s the kind of cop that ’d rather get into treuble than eat! Well? What about it? Do I get it without the fight?’ | He waited through fifteen terrible sec- onds. He grunted and started for the door. He was a vulgar person and very much excited, and as a matter of fact he did have ECOMNIC HOG Ss (CO ww