Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

684 Shorty, will you fellers throw him on the buckboard and we'll take him down and pick out a cell.” “T’ll see you over at the hotel,” I told my bunkie, and he half winked at me. Renwood, suddenly turned exces- sive friendly, pressed me to go back to the Oriental. This saving of his worthless life had registered a great hit with him. “You’re one quick, bull’s-eye kid,” he said admiringly. “ It’s thinking and acting in a split second that does the trick. In another moment I might have been dead meat; I didn’t even see Dawson dart out from the side of the shack. You must come to the Oriental as my guest.” Finally, upon my suggesting that I join him later, I was able to break away from the party. Sauntering down to the Gorge City House I compliments myself on a piece of luck. ‘That downing of Renwood’s revengeful cow-puncher, ‘fore he could do any harm, might help me in more ways than one. At the hotel I found an empty lobby, but after stomping about a bit an old feller appears with a stiff collar around his neck that might have been white, once, and requests my pleasure. “ My pal and me desires a room,” I tells him, “‘ one with a big bed, ‘cause he kicks in his sleep. We want said sleeping chamber facing the street, so we can leap if there’s a fire, and also know whether it’s day or night.” He walks to a rack and tosses me a key. “One flight up, right in the front, number twelve,” he says. “ Two dol- lars, please.” . He pointed to a fly specked sign: NO TRUST—NO BUST I laughed, paid in advance, and sat down in a chair to wait for Shorty. In ’bout twenty minutes he joined me, ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. “This is the maverick,” I says, pointing to my pard, “so don’t mis- take him for no burglar jest ‘cause he looks bad.” Shorty rubbed his deputy badge. “T’m shore tough,” he growls, “ for I’m the feller that robs the burglars!’ “TV'll go put them two silver dollars in the safe right away,” grins back the old bird, who you can’t string none. We moves upstairs to room twelve, just big enough for a bed, a bureau, and one chair. But it looks out on the street and that is something. ‘The next room has an open door, and is empty, and our sleeping quarters is at the end of the hall. 3 Shorty drapes his Stetson over the doorknob so it covers the keyhole. “We takes. that drunken party to the lock-up,” he tells me. “ He’s so erogey he don’t know what happened to him, or who hit him.” I grunted. “* I’ve been thinking that - Hink Dawson over, and I think he is worth a talk and a scare. Wonder if I could get to see him early in the morning ?” Shorty grinned. “The sheriff and me is like loving twins jest restored to each others arms after years of being apart. I got a key to the lock-up, like a reg’lar deputy in good standing.” “Well, we'll ramble down there a little after sunup. You may have fig- ured it kind of funny, taking every- thing into consideration, my saving Renwood, but I have a more pleasing end in store for him.” “Tm trailing your way, Harry; you've been aces so far. We both is edging in strong, I’m thinking. Ren- wood will have to think of you as his savor from now on.” “Yeah,” I said, “ but he is going to do some dazed and dizzy figuring when he finds that paper gone. By the way, mebbe, it is chuck full of infermation.” I points to the hat. Shorty reaches for it and replaces mine over the key- hole. Then he carefully takes the paper (EOLMUCE DOOKS (F@)