Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 4, 1926 — page 113: what you’re looking at

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

ROLL YOUR OWN. heart enough to make the figure as low as that.” “ But I—I can’t pay you any thousand - dollars!” “No?” smiled Mr. Rockford, and at once arose and secured hat and stick. ‘“‘ Just as you say, old chap. You know your own business best. Good day, Cranning?” CHAPTER XIII. THE NEW PUZZLE. ND he was departing, too! He wasn’t going to wait and argue the matter, and accept less if he couldn’t get his thousand—Rockford was just going! Even now he was in the outer office. “ Rockford! Hold—hold on!” croaked. “Eh?” said the visitor, and paused. “Ves, come back here! I—Rockford, will this thousand dollars shut your filthy mouth about what you think you’ve dis- covered?” : Mr. Rockford smiled faintly. “T never talk about things I think I’ve discovered, Cranning. I mentioned that little matter of the hat and the closet merely to show you what a thoroughly good sort Iam. Were I not, I should have made the whole thing public at once, you know. “I’m a believer ‘n purity and open, up- standing right living, Cranning; I think the best way to keep a place like our Sunnyvale clean and wholesome is to let every one know exactly what’s going on, and—confound it!” Mr. Rockford said ringingly, and with sudden decision. “ I’m going to keep right with myself, and do that anyway!” “T asked you a question,” said James. “So you did,” said the visitor and con- sidered. ‘‘ Well, that’s a delicate matter, isn’t it? Of course, scandal among the members of a firm never did anything but damage. If you actually were a partner of mine in this new venture, it is very prob- able that I should have to go against my own conscience, and maintain silence about this—ah—slight indiscretion of yours and Mrs. Fred Budlong’s. Yes,” sighed Mr. Rockford, and shook his head sadly. “ Pll James 423 say in so many words that I should feel compelled to say nothing, Cranning.” James’s uncertain fingers came out of his vest pocket. “There!” he gulped. “Oh! Youre coming in, after all?” said Mr. Rockford as he accepted ten one- hundred-dollar bills. ‘“ Cranning, you'll never regret it! You—” “And bear this in mind!” James inter- rupted hoarsely and remarkably. ‘If ever you breathe one word, I’ll kill you!” ‘“* Ah, but I shall never breathe one word, my dear fellow,’’ laughed the caller. ‘“ So don’t waste two or three dollars for ¢ar- tridges on my account. I’m sorry I can’t give you a receipt for this, Cranning.” “You go to hell!” shrieked the amazing James. His vision seemed strangely clouded by ared haze. He rose, his hard fists clenched. He was panting—and now he sat down again heavily. Rockford had whisked out with .a final grin; and perhaps that was as well, for although this might be the very first time in his life that James Cranning had paid blackmail, he had done what he could to save the Budlong family from the sort of ruin that had overtaken the Cran- ning family, and very little would have been gained by stretching Mr. Rockford on the floor! And now James’s thousand dollars was gone! NDorothy’s jewels were—just gone! And the chance Mr. Budlong had stood of getting a new car this evening, that was gone too. Young Mr. Cranning laughed bitterly, but even as he laughed his vision cleared. Instead of a car, Fred would get the simple truth, and the more James thought of this the-better he liked the idea. Whatever unearthly thing had afflicted him yesterday, Fred had had a good long night’s sleep and, before this, he was just his old, calm, jolly self. Today, beyond question, the infernal car was not the neurotically life-and-death “matter it had been to Fred last night. In cold fact, the man would simply listen, grinning here and grunting there; and if he showed even a sign of being mag- nificent and waving the whole thing away Eomice €or DOOKS)