Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

could give th’ crowd a run f’r their money. What say?” Carrigan turned to his fighter. tucky Kid was smiling. “ Anything you all say, Mr. Carrigan!”’ he drawled to his manager’s unspoken query, Carrigan laughed. ‘“‘ My boy says he’s right, Walden; so bring on y’ ham, an’ if yuh can’t find a fighter bring on Tarzan 0’ th’ Apes!” Fifteen minutes later Carrigan and his fighter entered the ring. At sight of them the groaning crowd, led by the delegation from Kentucky, burst into a semblance of a cheer. A moment later the ham came down the aisle. In a bound he cleared the ropes, hurried straight into Kentucky Kid’s corner, and presented himself before Carrigan’s big, opulent form. ° “ Carrigan,’ he snapped, stabbing the manager with a pair of blue-bayonet eyes, “here’s that jack I owe yuh—an’ if yuh wanna double it, bet on me!”” He dropped the money, grasped Kentucky Kid’s hand, and hurried toward his own corner. “K. O. Burns!” Carrigan gasped. ‘* An’ right in th’ pink!” Kentucky Kid nodded in amazement, but the next instant he flung a contemptuous sneer toward the retreating figure, and when the referee called them to the center of the ring he covered the space in a single bound. With the tap of the first gong the crowd knew that they were to be more than re- paid for any disappointment they had suf- fered. The fighters waived the handshake, coming out of their corners with flaying arms. Back and forth across the arena they crashed, fighting every inch of the way; and at the finish of the round their handlers were forced to drag them, snarl- ing, into their corners. = Ken- Le} ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, Three rounds of this furious milling fol- lowed, with no slackening in the pace. It Was any one’s fight; the fighters themselves seemed to know it, and with the tap of the gong which marked the fifth round they toed together in the center of the ring and fought it out. Smash, bang, zam, zowie— crash! A tousled head, jabbed by a wick- ed left, lay back as though on a hinge—a flashing right came out, straight from the shoulder—and the next thing Kentucky Kid knew he was kayoed in Chicago. A half hour later K. O. Burns, dressed and ready for the street, stepped into Ken- tucky Kid’s dressing room. The Kentuck- ian was first to note his presence, and, stumbling forward, he grasped the battered fighter’s hand. ‘* Fellows,” he drawled, “Ah want you all tuh shake hands with K. O. Burns. His wife says he’s th’ next heavyweight cham- pion! She says th’ reason Ah beat him down in N’Orleans is ’cause Ah had him foul! Reckon so—though if he licked me he’d lose his gal. You all see—his wife’s mah sister!”’ “ Sister, wife,” Carrigan gulped, blinking wildly. ‘“‘ Well, I'll be—” “ Yep,” K. O. imterrupted, smiling broad- ly and thrusting his hand into Carrigan’s big red paw; “but right now I need a manager bad. What say we team up again, Jim?” ‘Suits me, K. O.,” Carrigan grinned. “ All right,” K. O. laughed, extending a strip of paper. “ Find this box car an’ unbutton it—” * Box car?” The words came from Car- rigan’s lips in amazement. “ Yep,” K. O. continued soberly. “I hadda hog-tie Kid Troubles an’ lock him up tuh get this fight—an’ I don’t wanna go down there an’ take any chances. I might bust one o’ my hands!” U U “THE 156TH NOVEL, ORIGINALLY PRINTED SERIALLY IN THIS MAGA- ZINE, TO BE PUBLISHED IN BOOK FORM IS McCARTY INCOG By ISABEL OSTRANDER, author of Twenty-Six Clues,” etc. (Arcosy-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, July 15 to August 19, 1922.) . Published in book form by Robert M. McBride & Co., New York. Price $1.75 net. COMlGElOOOKSaCOlmM