Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 107: what you’re looking at

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

vy THE WEDDING GIFT. PV eee = ‘* And you don’t—ya never—” “What you mean is, was I ever tempted to utter it—as the law calls it. Between us all here—Ed knows, I’ve told him the story—and just to see if it really was as good an imitation as it looked to be, I took one five into one of the biggest New York banks and asked the teller to change it into quarters. He just give it a careless look, and took it without a whimper. Then I give the quarters away in charity, dropped ’em into beggars’ hats and poor boxes and so on, so’s not to make a crook out of myself.” “Joe never gave me a chance to pass any of ‘em,” complained Mosely. A flicker passed between the averted eyes of Thumb and Hambone. The peterman breathed what might nave been a prayer, but wasn’t. “ T read a lot about this Randall’s work,’ he said. ‘* Never believed it was See enough to fool me. The paper, now; them little red and blue silk threads—” “They never did learn where he got that. Anyhow, it was just the same as the Treasury uses. It ’d fool you, all right. It’s fooled gov’ment experts.” ‘ Just the same, I don’t believe it! Can’t ya let me see a sample of it? Just one—” Grant knocked the ash from his pipe into a cuspidor. ‘You can see it all,” he agreed. “I live only a hop and a jump from here, and the moon’s out. A little walk will settle our supper.” The two yeggs rose as if operated by springs; Mosely, watching Joe’s eyes, an- nounced that he’d seen the stuff a score of _ times, and would read the papers till they got back, The three put on their hats and set forth up the road, each busy with his thoughts. To Thumb, the incredible news that a hun- dred thousand of the best green goods ever produced had been lying loose in an old shoe box for years almost made him forget the Bingham job. The Federal people must have forgotten all about it; had destroyed the plates, and thought they had rounded up all the product that had been put into circulation. And here in a little hick bush f er 58 named Moosuc—a water tank and a weed- grown race track— His revery was broken in upon. had halted before a pretty little brick cot- tage covered with ivy, upon which fell the benison of moonlight. ‘““Here’s my bachelor hangout,” he an- nounced, pressing close to the door which was in shadow, and thrusting a key. into the lock. He struck a match. ‘Pretty dark inside here, boys; me close.” Cupping the lighted match in his hands, he passed through the dark doorway, the two at his heels. An instant later, and with a clang grotesquely out of place in a cot- tage door, it slammed shut, and the harsh rasp of the lock sounded a note of doom to the two left groping in darkness within, Shouts and curses came through a heay- ily barred window to the high constable of Moosuc, listening outside. “Ya tainted son of a flea-bitten—” The words burbled away as if cut off by a mina- tory hand, and Thumb’s more conciliatory whine replaced them. ‘“ Aw, what’s the big idea? Ya got noth- in’ on us—not a thing! enough to get deppaed offa the train at a dump we never even heard of—” ‘Listen, men!” interrupted Grant. “ Tve no charge against you, as you say. But you sort of riled me up, saying what you did to Ella to-night. I'll turn you loose to- morrow morning; and it ‘ll be a lesson to you to keep civil tongues in your heads next time!” “Ya old goat!” ‘yelled Hambone. “Don’t ya know we can have the law on ya for false arrest—and imprisonment?” ‘““Wouldn’t wonder if that’s so, boys. Well, I’m easy to find! They all know me round here.” ‘But, listen, feller!” Thumb took up the anthem. ‘‘ We gotta make Pittsfield on that morning train! And she leaves at seven—” “Don’t worry. Ill see you get there. And there’s two good bunks inside, with clean blankets. Now I'll go get ye some- thing to eat. } victuals and drink.” O Grant foller | Ain’t it hard luck — Law says I must provide EComicbooks.com —