Adventure Magazine Cover, April 1916 — page 179: what you’re looking at

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

A Hot-Dog in a Hurry “‘He iss purn it down one time pefore al- retty!”’ the man declared savagely. “If I ketch him The crowd edged closer. Curiosity drew the outer circle, but the inner group was in the mood of hornets disturbed. All shouted at once. Miss Dem’s answer was drowned in the din. A boy threw a turnip in the di- rection of the Hot Dog. As it hurtled past Miss Dem’s nose she reached out and catch- ing it neatly on the fly, inspected it with in- terest. There was comedy in the move- ment. Some one snickered. A man began to elbow his way out of the crush, in evident disgust that nothing more dramatic was doing. A few others followed with the usual contagion. Then, before things could whip up again, the gong of the patrol-wagon sounded at the corner. The crowd parted. The wagon dashed through. An officer sprang out. ‘““What’s the matter?” he asked in a voice of authority. The man with the pirate’s nose fade an- swer, and those near him endorsed his accu- sation. The officer brushed them aside and dived into the house. A wisp of gray smoke eddied out of the hall door. In a moment he reappeared and looked about him. ‘Here, you!”’ he said to the Hot Dog, who had straightened up and mopped the trickle of blood from his face. ‘Been playin’ with matches again, eh?” “N-no,” returned the Hot Dog. ‘‘I——” The officer seized him by the arm. “Explain to the sergeant!’ he command- ed, and urged him toward the patrol-wagon, scattering the crowd with his stick. A sudden impulse struck Miss Dem. She turned to the policeman with the flash of a smile. ‘I’m in this thing, too,” with an air of candor. “Come on, then,” the officer bade her. He stood aside at the steps, and helped her in. They were off with the clamor of the gong sounding above the racket of the street. The crowd jammed round, eager to see the end of things. But after they had trotted a few blocks their interest fell off, and it was only a small remnant that trailed up the station steps to be finally shooed away by an inexorable guard at the door. The examination was quickly through. A few dry questions from the sergeant brought she announced 177 out the fact that the fire was accidental, the result of a laboratory experiment in which the Hot Dog was engaged. He proved to the satisfaction of the sergeant that he had used all possible precautions. Miss Dem learned for the first time the name of the Hot Dog—Jimmy Squires. It seemed to fit him, for some mysterious rea- son. “Discharged!” the sergeant said at last, with a wave of dismissal. Then with an afterthought,. “Wait a minute!’’ He turned over the pages of the book be- fore him. “Hm,” he observed, taking another look at the prisoner, “this is the second time you’ve set that rookery on fire, ain’t it?” A smile flickered over the face of the Hot Dog. sir nee. ” he answered simply. The sergeant shut the book with a snap. “Better build yourself an asbestos house,”’ he advised, “for the next time you come here I won’t be so easy with you.’ He turned to Miss Dem with the perceptible change in manner her sex draws out of the materialist man. “What are you here for?” he asked, tapping with a lead-pencil on the desk. ‘“‘Been playing with matches, too?”’ She answered with a nonchalant twinkle. “No, I’m just a neighbor, come to tell you Mr. Squires is all right, and that he didn’t mean to do it.” The Hot Dog looked at her with real interest. Evidently the word “neighbor” appealed to him. They walked out of the station together. It was characteristic of him that he did not trouble to thank Miss Dem for the inter- ference that had saved him from further damage. It is doubtful if he realized that he had been in danger. But the word “neighbor” had made a hit with him. ‘S-so yow’re a neighbor of mine,” he ven- tured, adding, “I’m from the country where they have ’em—they d-don’t s-seem to, here in the city.” ‘Bless your heart,’’ Miss Dem confessed, ‘“‘we’re too busy tryin’ to be neighborly with ourselves to take time bein’ neighborly to any one else.” He turned and surveyed her interestedly. “‘W-what do you do?” he asked with a frankness that for some reason was friendly and not at all intrusive. “Me?” she laughed. people’s faces, “Oh, I manicure and make such bee-uties CoOMmicboooks (CO