Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

i CLS OR CANS YT aD Fale et Pe I! wet Al i} ’ he «a! iy Atay ¥ u i ae 1 met eeu. See PW, Th FOU EE it Ait PRE NB by es roused them to boisterous euffaws. But nobody had paid them any attention. They remained as an uncongenial back- _ ground, a necessary evil like the mosqui- toes, and so far as possible everybody for- got that they were among those present. Now, with the picnic drawing to its close, Micah had worked himself up to the right pitch of righteous indignation, and as Letty ~~ and her escort came up from the scrap of - beach fringing the pond, he stood before > ~ at —* =~ oe - = e ——— ae Sais ¥4 > ie <= ~as Wa OT ry as si, lei Le Cees sth A Vex ay cvHy j ny, Ts mM AM, eat he Dies i Dy my ey ee’ Me “4 Bt, st MW —,¥2 them, so that it seemed necessary to turn poets in order to pass. Inasmuch as there -was plenty of room, there being no real Fas, here, it woutd have been easy = - enough to ignore him and circle about him as he stood flatfooted: but the Slapper had not failed to take note of the lowering glances which had followed him all day. ~ Therefore, and before Letty guessed his in- tention or could stop him, he reached out - and pushed Micah smartly on the chest. _ And as the village lad also had not antici- pated ‘this swift thrust, he lost his balance ~ and, stepping back, foutid his foot en- _ tangled in a blackberry vine, wiry and te- - nacious. mass of hostile thorns which easily pene- —— = ated the seat of his breeches. _-It must remain doubtful as to what he - might have done-had the Slapper paid him no attention; but now, with the eyes of his - henchmen, and of Letty upon him as he S = fioundered at his rival’s feet, there was but -one thing to do. He rose lumberingly, but _ quickly, z and yelled: “2 knock the tar out = 6 ye, Mr. Dude! Think ye’re smart, don’t =e?” Even as he spoke, he began peeling off his coat and rolling up his “sleeves: catch- = ing them with the pink garters he wore. From: every point the picnickers began has- — tening to the spot. Most of them had been = aware of the smoldering resentment of > = a ~ Micah, and the village regarded the boys as - rivals for the hand of Letty Dean. ‘There = are no secrets in Wedlock. S 00, took off his coat, handing it to an Micah was ready first, had spat upon his ~ gteat hands and began to stamp upon the Seared like a young steer. The Slapper, _as willing as he, was more leisurely. He, aN _An instant later he suffered the ~ ignominy: of sitting down violently upon a ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. urchin. Another took his hat. They wrangled for the privilege of caring for his garments; the links were removed from his cuffs and divided. All the small boys clus- tered behind him, adoring eyes fixed upon him. ‘There was no question as to whom their devotion belonged! Even the little brother of Micah whispered—careful that nobody overhear — “Oh, God! Let him lick. Micah!’’ Thus before battle does weak’ human na- ture ever seek to fix the Great Umpire, whether the occasion be a gang fight or a Gettysburg. The sympathies of the elders were more mixed. Nobody liked Micah; not even his own father and mother went so far as that. But there was the native son element; the immemorial pride in, the exploits of the home raised. Micah’s reputation extended farther than the boundaries of Wedlock; at the cattle show he had overthrown the champions of other towns at wrestling, col- lar-and-elbow style; and in throwing weights. Some pity was felt for the slen-_ der city chap, who was the under dog. On the other hand, he was an interloper. Letty had been Micah’s girl—in village opinion, though not in her own. Whatever their feelings, they all hastened to secure a good view of what was about to happen. From the edge of his eye the Slap- per caught sight of the concerned faces of Pa and Ma Tucker, the white blotch that was Letty’s face, Major Hendrie, smiling cheerily as he trotted round the circle try- ing to find a vantage point. Micah’s fel- lows were in a little knot just behind him. Some feeble efforts were made to nip the affair in the bud. ‘The minister’s voice rose in exhortation that brotherly love and charity prevail. The man to whom the Slapper had first spoken upon his arrival, he who confessed himself to be both coroner and health officer, started to make official protest, then decided not to. Micah was a bad man to thwart. The innocent bystand- er received no consideration at his hands. A few women began to cry, more from ex- citement than because they were really con- cerned. Micah raised his big arms, and tried to look as mean as he felt. He was, , the Slapper admitted to himself, a com icboo!