Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 189, No. 4 — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

518 He had vindicated himself; had wiped away the blot he had acquired in her lemon tree; he could afford to be pleasant and even a little patronizing. “Why?” she asked. “They broke into my tomato and yam fields last night,” he replied. “I suppose it would be a good idea, after this, to keep your live stock locked up.” “T value these hogs,” said Miss Wood- stock, “‘ at fifteen dollars a head—on the hoof. That means a total of just two hun- dred and ten dollars. I’ll take your check for it if you haven’t that amount in cash handy.” Teddy now smiled. He grinned. He chuckled. “ Try,” he chuckled, “ and collect it.” “You don’t mean,” the girl exclaimed, “that you’re going to be foolish enough to force me to take such an open-and-shut case into court!” “Tf you think you can coilect it by tak- ing me into court,” was Teddy’s cheerful answer to that, “ go right ahead and take me into court!” “‘T hate to go to the bother of getting an injunction on your property,” Georgia Michigan Woodstock told him. ‘“ It would really be much cheaper for you to pay me now. Court procedure isn’t any cheaper in Florida than anywhere else, and you haven’t a chance, you know.” “We'll see about that,” Teddy grimly retorted. , Her cocksureness was making him feel a little uneasy; but he wasn’t going to let this little bully bluff him. He’d spend his last dime fighting her. “YT really mean that, Mr. Armbister. You haven’t a chance in court.” “We'll see about that,” Teddy repeated. “Your hogs got into my fields and de- stroyed my crops. No court in the world is going to say I haven’t the right to shoot animals that break into my fields and de- stroyed my crops.” He expected to see her bristle at that, but she remained serene and calm. _ “T’m afraid, Mr. Armbister, that you haven’t heard of the fence laws in this State. ‘Those laws say that the landowner must properly fence his land to keep out ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. cattle. If they break in, it’s the fault of the fences. That’s the law. It’s up to you to make your fences hogproof. That’s why I say that if you take this case into court you haven’t a chance.” “ Pll take it anyway!” Teddy snapped. ‘Very well,” she said, indifferently. “ Ill give you until to-morrow night to have a check for two hundred and ten dollars in my hands. If I haven’t that check by to- morrow night, the case goes to a lawyer.” She wheeled her mule about upon that ultimatum and started down the road. Ted- dy Armbister glared at Dan Mitchel. “Ts that right about the Florida fence laws?” Teddy demanded. Yes, suh,” said the roustabout. “IT don’t believe it!” “No, suh; Ah knows yuh don’t.” Teddy Armbister got into his roadster and drove down to Arcadia. He told his troubles to Bill Pocock, who ran the Ar- cadia grocery store and post office. Bill Pocock was by nature a gloomy indi- vidual. He became gloomier and gloomier as Teddy recited his adventure with Miss Woodstock’s hogs. ‘IT was perfectly justified,” Teddy raved. * Those hogs were rooting up my yams and my tomato plants. I had a perfect right to shoot every damned one of them!” “Not in this here State,” interjected the gloomy grocery store proprietor. “ She has the law on her side. The farmers have been tryin’ for years to get the fence laws repealed in the legislature, but the cattle men around the interior are too strong for ‘em. All you'can do, Mr. Armbister, is to keep your fences tight and your gates closed.” ‘At that rate,” said Teddy indignantly, ‘it would pay her, when business’ was poor, to open people’s gates at night and coax the hogs to go in so people would get mad and shoot them and she could collect for them!” ‘Folks around here,”’ Mr. Pocock point- ed out with a weary sigh, “ have learned to keep their fences and their gates shut tight and their tempers under control. We’ve argued and. cajoled and threatened that girl, but she just sets back and gives us the hoss laugh. We’ve offered to buy her hogs Gomichbooks (e(o)