Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 5, 1928 — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

THE TRAIN to at least a portion of the population. And the spot where your cabin stands is an ideal place for a sanatorium.” Allister was running true to form. He made a disagreeable face. “Tm not interested in this railroad,” he said, “ and I wouldn’t own a sana- torium for any money.” “What the devil are you interested in?” Johnny demanded, half jestingly. “ T’ve heard that the way to live a long time is to get a serious illness and nurse it. I guess that’s what you're doing. You talk about not being necessary to anybody or anything, Gordon, when you have the means not only of help- ing people who are in the same boat you're in, but of being the salvation of this neck of the woods.” “That’s all right, but who’s going to thank me for it?” : Johnny looked at Allister quizzi- cally. “Tsn’t the satisfaction of accom- plishment sufficient thanks?” he de- manded. “ Have you got to have your ego inflated all the time by some wom- an, for instance, whose only motive is to spend your money?” “Oh, shut up,” said Allister. “ This neck of the woods, as you call it, isn’t worth saving, and I’m not interested, and that’s all there is to it. And grant- ing that I did build a sanatorium or anything else on Spruce Mountain, who would come to it? And granting that anybody did come, who would stay?” “TI notice you came,” said Johnny, “ even when there wasn’t a sanatorium. Not only that, but you have stayed, and you have regained your health, par- tially. If it wasn’t for that pumpkin on your shoulders that you call a head, you'd be all well.” “Vou can bet your neck that I wouldn’t have come if there had been a sanatorium here,’ Allister replied. “Tf I’d wanted to go to a sanatorium, I could have gone to any one of a dozen that are widely known and not tucked off in a God-forsaken hole like this.” EXPECTER. 605 ‘“ And that’s the very reason,” John- ny triumphed, “that you didn’t go— because they are widely known and not tucked off in some out-of-the-way place. To be frank, Gordon, you wanted to get off the beaten track, didn’t you, where it was wild and primitive, and not follow the crowds?” ‘“ Why, I suppose I did,” Allister ad- mitted. “ All right,” said Johnny. ‘ There are thousands of sick people who feel the same way about it. Not only that, Gordon, but they are people who can afford to pay the price of exclusiveness. Oh, [ve thought this thing out in every detail. I’d build a place for the best class of people, and both the finan- cial and social standing of every pa- tient would be rigidly investigated be- fore being admitted.” “That doesn’t sound much like a gift to humanity to me,” Allister com- mented. “It isn’t,’ said: Jonny. - “ “Fhat 46. not humanity in general, only a certain class of humanity. There’s too much at stake for it to be otherwise. We’ve got to build something that will be an assured success from the start. Can’t afford to take chances up here.” “Well, I, for one, am not going to take chances,” declared Allister. ‘* Fur- thermore, there isn’t anything at stake, so far as I’m concerned, and there isn’t going to be, and that’s flat.” VI. THE only effect the foregoing had on Allister was to make him more moody and more despondent than ever. He gradually ceased even arguing with Johnny about other matters. He spent less and less time at the station, and neither did he spend his time at the cabin. He took to tramping about by him- self in the woods. Johnny never ques- tioned him about these jaunts, and Al- lister never offered any explanation. The station agent could only hope that EOPMICL OOO KS (E@)