Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 10: what you’re looking at

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

484 “Come on, Slim; let’s beat it to the hay. If we want to do a heavy stunt on those claims to-morrow, we might as well—” He broke off abruptly, and stood tense, peering like a hunting dog coming to a point. The flimsy, calico curtain across a door- way, which led into a room where the en- tertainers on the program waited for their turns, had blown or been pushed aside, and beyond it Mickey saw revealed a slen- der girl who looked as much out of place in those surroundings as a diamond in a garbage pail. Involuntarily his hand had _ clutched down on Slim’s arm in a crushing grip, but he was unconscious of the latter’s writhing efforts to free himself. Oblivious, heedless to everything else, he stood star- ing at the vision beyond the doorway. But it lasted only a moment. Some one jerked the curtain back into place, and as the dreary fox trot came to an end the hostess rapped for attention. “Next,” she announced, “ we will have Billy Jenks in some buck and wing dances; but before he comes out I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. After Billy’s through we’re gonna give you a special added at- traction in Miss Ilsa Calder, the cow-girl songstress. Step out, deary, and let ’em see you.” In response the girl Mickey had seen beyond the curtain came out to smile shyly and bow, as the listless audience, stirred to life at the sight of the bewitching figure she made in her Western costume, burst into a thunderous round of applause. “That’s right,” wheezed the hostess when she was finally able to make herself heard. ‘‘ And believe me, she sings just as good as she looks. You mustn’t none of you dream of leaving before you’ve lis- tened to her. But first, as I told you,” she added, “ we’re gonna have Billy Jenks. Give the boy a hand, folks. I'll say he’s good.” The hostess may really have thought so, since the bold, stiff-jointed littlke man who came out to shuffle through his time-worn routine was her husband; but certainly no- body else could see any merit in him, and the crowd, impatient for another glimpse ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. of the singer, raucously urged him to cut it short and get off the earth. One who has had experience with asthma, however, cannot be easily fazed by anything else; and the hostess knew her onions. Nobody was going to leave, she felt sure, until the “ added attraction ” had been presented; and the longer she could hold the crowd, the better for the house. Therefore, heedless to the insults and even threats showered upon him, she kept luckless Billy Jenks hoofing through to the bitter end of his number. Then, in defi- ance of the dead silence that greeted his closing bow, motioned him to take an en- core. The crowd, tickled in spite of themselves at the effrontery of it, burst into a laugh in which Mickey started to join, but was checked by a peculiar feeling of stiffness to his face. Speculatively he ran his fingers up over his gritty cheeks, and then gazed down at his grime-incrusted hands. “Gosh!” he exclaimed. have a wash.” “Wash?” Slim stared at him. “ For the luyva mud, are you crazy? Water’s selling at ten cents a short drink.” “Don’t make any difference,” declared Mickey. “ First impressions count; and I’m not going to meet that girl looking like a sand-flea.” So, dragging his protesting partner with him, he rushed out to hunt up the water wagon, and splash away a small fortune on ablutions. When they returned to the dance hall, his face, free of its embedded layer of alkali dust, was shining like a freshly scoured tin pan, his neck, ears and hands were scrubbed to a glowing crimson, and his wet hair was smooth and sleek as the back of a seal just out from a dip. Slim, more thrifty, or perhaps merely less susceptible, scornfully refused to share in any such sybarite wastefulness. But when the cow-girl singer came out to do her turn, and her eyes, roving over the audience, rested approvingly on his clean- ness, Mickey felt that he was more than repaid for his outlay. “Tve got to CORMICLOOOKS (F@)