Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 2 — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

364 a brother on the Braydon police force, Thomas recalled. And he was going now and— “ Wait, Kratz! ” Thomas said‘ quickly. ‘¢J—-you shall have it! J’ll withdraw my trade from’ you hereafter, but—” “J don’t want your trade! I want that suit! I want it quick!” said Kratz. “ Well?” Thomas Henning tucked his hand under the mailed arm and lifted. The armor rose “You come in here and I'il help you out of it—er—Jimmy!” he said famtly. . Jt’s too bad, but—you see how this clown feels about his trash.” “Yes, and never mind this clown stuff! Never mind this trash stuff!” advised the costumer. “I make 2 ain with a man and I stick to it! Guys like you make a bargain and it don’t mean no more to you than—”’ He ended with a snort. They had passed the music-room curtains now; they were in the pretty little apartment itself. “You'll have to do rt, Mary!” Thomas whispered simply, brokenly. box under the piano.’ “} won't!” gasped Mary Emerson. “ Do you want that roughneck to tear it from you?”’ “Can’t you—can’t you thrash him? Can’t you—knock him senseless?” Mary hissed, quite insanely. ‘Not’ without bringing the whole world in here to find you, after all,’’ sighed Thomas. ‘It’s awful. I know that as well as you do, but we'll have to get rid of him this way. | “Put the stuff in the hox and shove it through the curtains when it’s ready! I-——I wish I could give my right arm to save you this, Mary,” said Thomas, quite sin- cerely, ‘‘ but it’s the only thing to do now!” He parted the curtains and left suddenly, closmg them after him. He thrilled sick- eningly, too. Either Mary would or Mary would not comply. One of these things was worse than the other;. Thomas could not decide which. He glowered at Kratz, perched on the edge of a chair, with his uncouth chin set. He turned his back on Kratz—and Mary ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. - “ That's the was beginning to rattle, in there! Mary was gasping audibly, but she also gave forth rattles of some promise, as _yegarded the peace of the immediate future! Yes, and as the seconds passed, a suc- cession of thuds told that the pieces of armor were being dropped mto the box. Silently, Thomas counted them. He also closed his eyes instinctively, as if to shut out the vision of Mary, in there! He lis- tened again; there was a long scrape now and—yes, the infernal box was being pushed through the curtains! Kratz darted forward and snatched it up. Kratz leered triumphantly at Thomas Henning. -. ‘“T ain’t gemg to make no comments on the way you've acted, Mr. Henning. I ain't got no time!” he stated. “ But I got my own idea of a guy like you that 1l save money splitting the expense of @ cos- tume when—”’ “ Kratz!” gasped Thomas. “ Get out of here or I'1]—” ‘““ No, you won’t do anything at all!” the rough person laughed, roughly, as he jerked open the door. ‘“‘I got no time to bother with you; you made trouble enough for me. I got what I came after and you got your ten dollars back! You wanter be glad I didn’t—”’ He slammed the door on his own sen- tence. He, too, was gone! And with him had gone what, for Mary Emerson, corresponded to the outer gar- ments so much insisted upon by conven- tion, during these last few centuries! Thomas caught the back of a chair this time, to steady himself. Why, poor little Mary was in there now with—with what- ever she had worn under the armor and nothing more! She was here, in his flat— Bill Emerson’s bride, ike that! It speaks well for Thomas that he turned first a brilliant red and then a perfectly snow-white. He fumbled his way around the chair and sat down, -staring, limp! “ Tom!” said what sounded like the veice of a dying young woman, in the region be- yond the curtains. ‘“ I—I—” “ Yes, I—understand, Mary!” Thomas replied, with some difficulty. ‘“ Don’t—er —elaborate. I know.” ECOMMIC OG (CO ww