Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 113: what you’re looking at

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

PROTECTING PRUE. ‘TI can!” he said rather shortly, although instantly the smile returned. “All right, then. Dick, I’m going to bust that romance wide open, if I have to use dynamite!” ‘“ Why?” Richard asked, sadly. “Say, have you gone clean daft?” “I have not, but—what strikes me, Bart: it ‘Il hurt the kid!” “Eet itl? ‘And after all, the only thing she’s guilty of is being in love with Rolf,’ Rich- ard sighed dreamily. ‘‘ That’s no criminal offense.” ‘“What? If the Legislature could look him once over, they’d pass a law making it a Capital offense.” ‘No, Bart, I honestly think that falling in love—” He subsided, smiling afresh, before Bart- ley’s glare. ‘““ Richard, has your brain really turned to mush or can you pull it together enough to help me?” Bartley snarled. ‘““T’ve always been able to do that.” “Very well. I thought that all this was child’s play, and it isn’t. Now I’m going to wade in on the assumption that it’s a man’s job. First, Tl get a few hundred dollars for emergencies. Then I want you thao” Richard Flynn, so to speak, had sobered up with a crash, One jerk, and he was bolt upright and staring. ‘“ How will you get a few hundred dol- lars?”’ he rasped. “Tm going to—get it!” And Mr. Greer smiled oddly, to Rich- ard’s thinking in an evil and ominous way —and there followed a small pause, of a sort that had occurred once or twice before in their association. These gentlemen, be it recalled, were es- sentially soldiers of fortune. They had met upon the field of battle and in company of a sort where one asked no pointed ques- tions of the next man’s past. Perhaps each had assumed in the begin- ning that the other had good and sufficient reasons for being in just that company; perhaps neither of them had assumed any- thing of the kind. But the solid fact re- somewhat 903 mained that for several years they had been judging each other solely by the deeds of the moment; and Bartley Greer had never inquired as to any acts of Richard Flynn’s before their acquaintance began, at curiosity about the past of Bartley Greer. : supposes that each assumed conversation of that character to be of the sort better left unopened. ‘‘ Barty, don’t do that!” Flynn said ear- nestly. «< Bah!” ‘““ No—I mean it, old man. We’ve pulled some rough ones on occasion, but we’ve never—”’ “Will you please let me attend to the money end of this myself?” Mr. Greer snapped. ‘If I was ape enough to let ’em pick my pockets, maybe I’ve waked up enough now to fill ’em again! Now, as soon as I’ve collected the coin, I want you to meet me at—wait a minute! Do you re- member Steve Dolton?” “The crook we met trying to escape—” “Oh, he wasn’t a crook in the ordinary sense; he’s a pretty decent chap,” Bartley said impatiently, and he seemed to have grown quite liberal in his views this early evening. “ Well, Steve’s got a restaurant up in Eleventh or Twelfth Street some- where. ‘That’s where I want you to meet me at eight o’clock!” ‘“ That’s pretty early.” “e Why?” ‘“* Well—you see, I’m going back upstairs for dinner, Bart!” Mr. Flynn explained, and flushed a trifle under the tan. ‘““ Wayne asked me to do that and—”’ “All right. So much the better. That will give you a chance to keep an eye on the kid until about twenty minutes of eight. Then start up to meet me. Come down- stairs with me now and we'll see if we can find Steve’s address in the telephone book.” As they parted at the door, the address located, Richard made one more attempt. “ Bart, old man,” he pleaded, “ we can do without money. We’ve got forty dol- lars or more between us, and when you oO CoOmicloookSs.ec© All of which, perchance, probably oie. a nor had Richard even so much as hinted - =