Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 103: what you’re looking at

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

By C. C. WADDELL Aathor of CHAPTER XV. THE BUSY BOOTLEGGER. Vi CARPEN and J. P. were adepts at trimming their sails to the wind; but, weatherwise as they were, they found it no easy task on their arrival at Guadaljara City to decide exactly how the wind was blowing. In the first place, it was almost impos- sible to find out from the varying stories one heard just what had happened. Faith Howland had been murdered. No, that was wrong—she had not been mur- dered, but abducted by a gang of bandits. Bob Moore had confessed to the crime and been arrested. No, that was wrong—he had merely given himself up in order to aid the recovery of the girl, and was not even locked up. In the hotchpotch of rumors and counter- rumors, truths and half-truths, with which the town seethed, to get at the actual facts was like hunting for a needle in a hay- stack. ** So This Is Arizona!’’ etc. Naturally public sentiment was a trifle mixed. There was one faction, composed chiefly of excitement seekers, who were hotly de- manding that Moore be lynched without delay, and that the sheriff be strung up along with him as a fitting rebuke for his mush-and-milk attitude. It was noticeable, however, that these ceased their belligerent frothings and became strangely silent when- ever the decried official hove in sight. Then there was another crowd, made up of the more responsible element, which frowned upon any suggestion of violence. But between these two extremes were minor groups, representing almost every shade of varying opinion. The great mass of citizens were in that state of indecision where they might easily be swayed in either direction by the slightest event. Van Carpen was rather inclined to side -in with the lynching gang, chiefly because he believed that if they once got started they would string up Northrup along with Bob and the sheriff. This story began in the Argosy-Alistory Weekly for March 24, 729 CoOmicoooks (C@