Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

516 them to boast about afterward. Sure, we had our gats; we could have croaked a dozen of the rats if we’d made a stand, but where would we get off? A necktie party inside of twenty-four hours, with “ an out- raged countryside” given a clean bill of health. We didn’t run much after we reached the end of the block; we was winded and pretty well battered up. Everybody seemed to know what had happened and we could see women and kids in the windows, look- ing out as we drags along. The kids laughed, but the women didn’t; they had those cowards for sons and husbands, and it ain’t no joke to live with men like that. Down near the end of the main stem we turns a corner, and bumps into three girls standing in front ef a house. We came on them so sudden they can’t make a getaway and stands huddled up to the fence as we passes. They seems scared to death, for we were sure one hard-looking bunch. I guess we'd drilled past about fifty feet when I hears one of them calling to us. ‘’ Mister,” she says, “ you men! Wait & minute!” I looks around, and one .of them was giving us the high-ball to back up. The other fellows hear her, and we goes back, none of us caring much what was to come next. There was only two of the girls there when we gets back, the third one beating it out. Both of the two was crying, with their eyes full of tears, and they holds the gate open and leads us around to the back of the house, where there’s a big porch with a lot of benches and cushions and things. The oldest of the two tells us to sit down, and she and the little kid goes into the house and comes out in a minute with an armful of towels and a big hasin of water. We just sat there, too much down and out to do anything, and say, what do you think? Those little women comes over to us and washes the blood off our heads and hands and doing it as gentlelike ond kind as if we were kids. We're too stupid, as I says, to do any- _ thing at first but just sit there ‘panting, but the cold water and the gentle hands ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. of those little misses sure did feel af zz and freshened us up something wonder I never knew they made women like ¢ before; I never had no folks, so I ay I’ve missed a lot. L When we're dolled up and rested a t the girls bring us big pitchers of milk <¢ doughnuts and cookies and things, and | sure eats hearty till we can’t hold no moj The girls don’t ask no questions; ' just talk nice to us. Tommy starts to t them how it happens, but the oldest s@ she knows and is sorry, but there’s ga people in the town as well as bad on Slim says yes, and there’s angels, too, aj she just smiles with the weeps in her ey Man, if there’s any heaven like you hé the Salvation Army touting up as a go bet it’s sure full of women like those girl they don’t have many like ’em anywhq else. : I notices Hooch is awful quiet, not he’s a noisy guy at any time, but it seeq he’s hurt more than by just being beat wu I kind of figures he’s sore at himself getting in bad like this. He’s differe from us yeggs, even though he’s as ha as any of us; he’s had a bringing up 3 some kind and a education, and while gets mad at being beat up, he feels w you call “ hurt.” I can’t just explain it, but any dick w9 tell you what I mean. If they’re slippi a little rough stuff to a guy to make hij squeal or come across, the regular gun tak it as a part of the game, but a guy who J innocent, or ain’t a regular, takes it diffe ent. 3 Hooch keeps looking in the window face ing on the porch, so I takes a slant to see what’s on his mind. All I sees is a girl’s picture laying on top of some ribbons and things on a table, but it’s what Hooch i gazing at. He seems to be worried over the picture, keeps looking and passing his#¥ hand over his head like he was trying to- bring something to his*mind but can’t cut it. A couple of times his face lights up.*. like he gets a hunch about something, but* it’s just a flash and don’t make him any-". thing, and he gets more worried- ‘looking: than ever. F inally he asks the girl if he can look: e. . + YN COMMGIOO