Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 19: what you’re looking at

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

A STRANGER IN TOWN, Murgson and his two associates, and you jump at the conclusion that I’m Blume- feldt because he’s the only one you missed. Is that it?” Eddie drew a somewhat un- steady breath. And the sergeant grinned and nodded. “ That’s it. Though I wouldn’t say we'd missed him—” “ That’s your guess.” Eddie drove home his point in emphatic fashion, “ But—it’s a guess and nothing else. Do you suppose I’d be standing here telling you a bunch of fairy tales if I was Blumeieldt really. Wouldn’t this Captain Salles you mentioned a bit ago be pretty apt to know me when he saw me if he was at work on this case and had charge of the raid?” And at last he had made an impression. He sensed it as he paused. Nobody said — anything for several seconds, and the ser- geant plainly considered Eddie’s proposi- tion. “Vou might at that, if you could stall us into turnin’ you loose on your say-so,” he remarked, and turned to Jenkins with a question: “See here, Bill—do you know Blume- feldt?” Officer Jenkins actually dropped his jaw in a sort of startled surprise at the interro- gation before he snapped it up again and answered: “ Why, no, sarge, I don’t, but— I know th’ man who jumped on my neck.” ‘An’ this is th’ guy? Yow’re sure of it, Bill?” “Well, say-y!” Officer Jenkins com- plained. A quickly combative expression waked in his eyes. His throat contracted inside his collar. One would have said he gulped. He found himself in a most embar- rassing position, and the very thing that had won him unqualified praise a few min- utes before was impeached by implication at least. It was disconcerting to have his superior take such a stand after all he had done, and he was in no way minded to ad- mit the possibility of an error in his work. “Sure?” he let out in a bellow. “ Say, what do you think I was doin’ this after- noon—takin’ a sleep? Didn’t he beat it up the street like I’ve told you? An’ didn’t he try to slough that bill you got in your hand after he’d fell down tryin’ to stall me 649 with th’ same crazy yarn he’s told you, so’s Td turn him loose?”’ ‘“ Admittin’ that—” the sergeant began, glanced at Harmon and left his sentence nnfmiched Because, as Eddie caught his turning re- gard, he smiled. Jenkins wasn’t sure. His manner showed it. No matter what he said, no matter how hard he tried to bolster up his position, he wasn’t absolutely certain. For a man in an unassailable stand he was blustering too much. And dimly Eddie knew it and the knowledge brought about. a quirking of his lips. That almost wee untary smile the sergeant studied. “ Th’ point of the thing, Bill, is, did you lose sight of him while you was after him or not?” he went on at last. “Well sa—y! Ain’t I been tellin’ you T didn’t? An’ anyway ain’t he th’ same build—ain’t he wearing th’ same sort of hat and suit—” Abruptly Eddie interrupted. ‘“‘ There are a lot of gray suits and soft hats being worn this season, sergeant. You can’t iden- tify a man altog ether by his clothes.” He felt that was rather neat as he said it, and once more he appeared to have pro- duced an effect by his words. Glances passed again between the officers present. All at once they seemed undecided in spite of Jenkins’s vociferous avowal. The ser- geant studied the century note and lifted his eyes from it to those.of the men about him. “Oh, well,” he said at length, having apparently decided to pass the responsibility for the present; “ this ain’t gettin’ us no- where so far as I can see. Cap Salles will know who you are when he arrives.” ‘““ And when will that be?” Eddie’s tones were a trifle thickened, as the momentary hope awakened by the manner of his cap- tors, died. The sergeant shrugged. ‘‘ Nobody knows. He’s still out on th’ case.” ** And this Murgson, Irak and Welter— if they’re here, wouldn’t they know if I’m Blumefeldt?” Eddie saw another chance of escape and took it. “What?” The sergeant gave him a glance of something like admiration. “ You're a quick thinker, aren’t you? They Ecomichbooks-co