The Argosy for May — page 43: what you’re looking at

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

230 for a playground! You can play at mayor, and I’ll be the council, and we'll close the saloons and have all sorts of fun. We'll be famous, Fred—only men with nerve enough to stay in Merton, and all that!” Bob didn’t care for the fame, but he was trying to make Haverson see the thing in a different light. ‘And what’s the harm?” he went on. “No one has been hurt in the city. Noth- ing unusual has happened here. It’s just that confounded so-called invisible wall out there that keeps everything out, and that has frightened the people half to death! We don’t know anything about it, and we don’t care! We'll just hold down our jobs! Think of the fun of being the only people that can tell those outside what is going on—the only teleg- raphers in town !.”’ “And I guess the only men in the city,” added Haverson. ‘‘ We didn’t see any one, remember.”’ ‘Then it’s all the better. Won't you stick with me, Fred? ‘There’s no plague or disease, and nothing, it seems, to harm us. Stick until we are frightened by something worse than that invisible wall, anyway.” “ T—I don’t know—’”’ Fred began. ‘Come on, old man, don’t be a cow- ard! There’ll be two of us, remember. We'll have all sorts of fun. But it’s not the fun, Fred. Some one ought to be in town, and we’re the only ones left that can use a key. We're the historians of this affair, Fred. We can write magazine articles when we get out, if we want to. And then we ought to hold down our jobs.” “ But even the chief has left,’ pro- tested Fred. ‘““What do we care? You can play chief, if you want to. Let’s be game enough to stick to our posts.” Fred walked to the window and looked out at the lifeless street below. ‘“T’ve got no one in the world except my old dad,” said Bob. ‘ He was pulling the train that first ran into the wall. I'd rather run the risk of never seeing him again than to desert now and have him call me a coward—and that’s what he’d do!” = Haverson whirled upon him. ‘“T haven’t any one, Bob.” he said— THE ARGOSY. “not even an old father! If you have nerve enough to stay, so have I!” CHAPTER III. MYSTERIES AND A VOICE. AT the junction tower the operator kept stabbing at the key, calling head- quarters in Merton. He got no answer. Old Jerry Calkins, who stood near, was looking at his watch. “In five minutes my boy will report for work,” he said, “and then you'll get an answer.”’ “I doubt it,” muttered the operator to the mayor, who was bending over the key. “IT swear I wouldn’t stick in town, not knowing what sort of an infernal thing is going on in this neighborhood.” The five minutes passed, and still the operator’s call went unanswered. An- other five minutes were ticked off. There was a trace of keen disappointment and pain in Jerry’s face. “ The boy’ll be there, if he’s alive,” he kept repeating. ‘‘ He won’t desert—he won't desert.” - “It’s too much for the boy’s nerves, Jerry,” said the mayor kindly. “ He'll be there, I say—if he’s alive.” Just then the wire was “ broken,” the operator shut his key with a snap, the wire was opened again, and there came the answer to the call: 66 ba ‘“ Merton ? tower operator. 6c EY “ Who’s talking?” “ Calkins.” The tower operator turned around in his chair. 7 ‘Calkins talking. was right,” he said. “I knew it,” Jerry cried. my boy wouldn’t desert.” But the operator had turned to the key again, and was asking questions as rapidly as he could tick them off. Whefi the answers came he called them aloud. ‘ How’s everything?” he inquired. “Every one has deserted. We found headquarters without anybody on duty.” ‘* Any one left in town?” : “We didn’t see a person on our way to work.”’ Merton?” questioned the new COmMICLOO S The old engineer . (C@