Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 165: what you’re looking at

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

OL’ MURPH—PRELIM BOY. “Vou ain’t never seen that kid, chief, or you wouldn’t be askin’ of me,’ Murph said. ‘Honest to Gawd, he’s that purty you jest want to sit an’ look at him! An’— an’ the old woman—she—she’ll be sort of expectin’ of me.’ “T didn’t know what to do, so I handed the letter to Ellen. ‘ Here’s a prize fighter thug,’ I told her. ‘ What would you do about it?’ “JT saw rignt away I’d made a mistake— because she read the letter and then started crying and talking at the same time. It all ended up by me taking Ol Murph down to the railway station and buying him a ticket to Pueblo. ‘“““ Maybe I’ll have a chance to do you a good turn some day, chief,’ Murph said as he got on the train. ‘“< Tf you ever do, you'll shy from it like it was a rattlesnake—I know you birds,’ I told him, about half regretting what I was doing. “A couple of months passed without hearing anything from him and I began to figure he’d put that letter over on me, so I thought I’d look him up when Ellen and I drove up to Pueblo to visit my brother. I asked Chief Rouch up there about Murph —and it was straight goods—the—the kid had died—poor little chap. ‘“Do you remember those two jailbirds that were trying to threaten me ’cause I’d sent ’em up, that day you came to see me about getting Ol’ Murph out of jail? Well, blamed if I didn’t run plumb into them there in Pueblo! ‘The cops later told me they’d been watching ’em for a week, but couldn’t get anything on them. ‘They handed me a dirty look—and I have a hunch they followed me—they’d been trying to get me for ten years, but I didn’t think much about it, and Ellen and her kid brother took the car that night and drove down town to a movie. ‘“‘ About half past ten a police car came tearing up to the house and Chief Rouch: yelled for me to jump in. ““* Don’t get excited, chief,’ he says as the driver turned the car around and shot down the avenue,’ everything’s all right— but-your kids sure had a close call—couple of thugs stopped their car down by the 155 railway tracks—bounced the boy out and tried to make off with the car and the girl —but they’re all right now—don’t worry none—some bird happened to be along there when it happened an’—man! It must ’a’ been some scrap! He beat the two of ’em into a pulp—with his bare fists, I’m tellin’ you! An’ both of ’em pumping lead into him as fast as they could get a chance to pull the trigger. But I guess the poor devil’s a gonner-—he’s plumb shot up.’ ‘““T had a sort of weak feeling deep in my stomach, but before I could ask any ques- tions, we landed down by the tracks on a side street and there was a gang of people and two or three cars and the patrol and ambulance. The kids were there, scared half to death, but not hurt much, and the cops were lifting the two jailbirds that had tried to pull the job into the patrol. “Who do you suppose they were? No- body but them two yeggs I’d seen earlier in the day! They were both still unconscious —the other fellow had sure used ’em up! ‘““He’d put up a hell of a fight with his fists, but they’d both riddled him with bul- lets before he clean whipped ’em. We took him to the hospital, and I got the best sur- geons in Pueblo. He—he—they pulled him through, but—poor chap—he lost an arm and almost a leg out of it.’” “How did he finally come out and who was he?” I asked. “Well, there wasn’t much I could do for him, but he’d always sort of wanted to be a policeman, so him not having but one arm and being lame, the best I could do for him was to bring him down here and make him a desk sergeant; an’ he’s a blamed good one, I’m telling you! Yes, I knew him-—TI guess he was a friend of yours, too—if I re- ember right.” The chief led the way into headquarters office. “‘ Sarg,” he said to the Irishman back of the desk, “ here’s a fellow that used to take a particular interest in you.” “ Lovin’ bullrushes! How are you, Four Eyes?” Ol? Murph exclaimed, and getting up from behind the sergeant’s desk, ke limped over to me and we shook hands-— both leading with out left mitts, Gl?’ Muroh lacking a right. COMmiclooOolks és (©)