Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 41 — page 125: what you’re looking at

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

\ AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION and he quickly sought the rail again. It did not do to indulge such thoughts. They diverted him. The boy set his small, boyish chin and irritatedly rejected the childish regrets. rT; Hey pe ; Phil started. The sudden voice had issued from the intense black behind him. He stepped from the rail and scanned the shadows momen- tarily. Then he broke into a cautious run on the gravel. **Hey, you!” A tramp, probably. There were no cars on the siding, hence no railroad detectives... He ran on, searching the brush for a trail leading back up to the street} above the tracks. A muffled oath came from behind him, followed: by shuffling, heavy footfalls on the gravel. Suddenly the boy tripped. He slid on the gravel and went down. He rolled his body toward the brush and quickly gathered his knees up under him. Then, perceiving that the footsteps were very close, he quieted his breathing and hid his face under his jacket. 124 A shadowy hulk ap- proached, outlined faintly by light from a far, away street light. It hesitated for a mo- ment, then hovered over him. “Kid, huh? Runnin’ away.” The boy did not answer. He braced himself and stared up at the huge figure. Gradu- ally he managed to suppress the childish terror that filled him. He tensed his small body to subdue ripples of nervous- ness and fought the welling tears that threatened his vision. The tramp’s huge chest was heaving from the short run. Perhaps he was dulled by alcohol... “How much money... Why, yeu little ...! The heavy kick into the boy’s side warded off the action before it could be set into motion. Phil rolled, groaning in pain and rage, against the sharp, brittle brush. “T haven’t anything... any money,” he whimpered. “You had better let me go.” *“You’re runnin’ away from home. You got money—give me!”’ “T told you I haven’t any— you better let me go—I can kill you easily.” ! a ite “a A ie he Lah te Re , Lee! ee A stud i. CoOMmuicloooks.comhn