Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 147: what you’re looking at

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

OUT OF THE WORLD FOR A WHILE. to himself would not -be great. He might escape the ruin which threatened him. “TIL go to see Mrs. Seagrave,” he said. ‘““Do I have to come back here?”’ “I guess you do,” Allison said. ‘I can’t stir out, and you want to be mighty careful how you show yourself. Make sure that you’re not followed.” Radcliffe left, and the four men took a drink to celebrate. : ‘Poor cheese,” said Miller. “ We'll take you away from him wherever you are, Allison. We'll be on our way with the money, and he’ll never dare peep.” “How long will it take him to get up there and back?” Horton asked. ‘Not more than an hour,” Allison said. “In an hour we will have things moving, gentlemen. You have to leave these little tangles to the old man, don’t you?” But the hour passed, and Radcliffe did not return. Thirty minutes more dragged by. Even Allison began to fret, though he had always prided himself on keeping cool in a crisis. He waited fifteen minutes more, and then he said to Miller, with an oath: “* Call up that poor chump’s house and see if he is there.” Miller obeyed, and found that Radcliffe had not been at home all evening. “Shall I call Mrs. Seagrave’s?” Miller asked. “The last thing in the. world you want to do,” Allison said. “ That lady is sharp, let me tell you. She might smell a mouse.”’ But he was almost on the point of call- ing the Seagrave home when forty-five min- utes more had passed. Before he yielded to the impulse, however, there was a ring from the vestibule. Allison spoke through the tube, and turned about to the others with a sigh of relief. “ He’s coming,” he said. ‘‘ Maybe he had to use a little persuasion.”’ He stepped to the door and opened it, and stood back when Radcliffe appeared before it. Radcliffe stepped into the room. There was a mixture of relief and concern in his face. “ What is it?’ Allison asked sharply. “ Did it pan?” “Tt didn’t pan,” he said. “ Hell, that 937 woman has the best business head on any shoulders in this town. She knows what she’s doing, let me tell you. She wouldn’t look at my foundry at any price. She’s been looking ahead to this situation for a long time, apparently. She said she had bought machinery to outfit the factory she took over from you, Allison, as long as six months ago. She bought the complete mechanical plant of a Detroit foundry that was going out of the stove business and into something else in iron. I couldn’t have named her a figure that she would have touched. ‘““She’s got your number, Allison. She had only a smile when I mentioned that I had heard she had bought the lease on your building and that I supposed she would want machinery for it. She said she had been planning for a long time to get that building and outfit it—just as soon as you decided to quit. I guess she’s been ex- pecting you to quit. You had a fat chance of selling her any stock in your rubber company.” Allison’s face had gone a pasty gray. He seemed to suffer more from the fact that Mrs. Seagrave had read through his scheme than from the fact that Radcliffe had failed. He got up heavily and began to pace the room, mouthing bitter oaths. After ten minutes of this he poured a generous drink and tossed it down. Then he sat and faced Radcliffe. Radcliffe shrank from the glit- ter in the man’s eyes. Allison had his mask off now. He had played a slow, hard game in this town, and he was not going to be cheated out of everything. “What are you thinking of now, Alli- son?” Radcliffe asked. “ [’m thinking that you are going to help me out of a hole,” Allison ground out. “We'll come right down to cases. Will you do what I say peacefully or shall we have to persuade you?” ‘“‘ Persuade me? What do you eae Allison flipped his hand toward Miller. Miller produced an automatic pistol from the side pocket of his coat. He held it loosely in his palm, but it was pointed at Radcliffe. “Call up Seagrave,” Allison ordered: “ Tell him you want to see him. Say that conmmicboooks CO) inn