Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine, Vol. 107 No. 3 — page 177: what you’re looking at

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

ET c SHE WAS TIRED GF BEING CREMATED. 519 wondered if I might ask you—a stranger— a favor?” | “A favor? Assuredly, my dear Mr. Hig- gins. Already I have taken a profound lhik- ing to you.” With his free hand he again manipulated a bottle of bonded. ‘“ {ff yeu will intimate the nature of your—” “It’s like this,” Higgins proceeded, as the aproned man moved to the other end of the bar. ‘“ My assistant needs bringing down. I—eh—I have become very fond of ber—but she doesn’t reciprocate. I be- lieve that, if you are willing to attend to a simple flirtation, she would rapidly see the matter from my view-point.” Mr. Brady winked knowingly. “ Yeu aren’t afraid I might carry # too far—that she might grow so fond of me that—” Higgins raised a finger. ‘“ Not a fear in the world, Mr. Brady. in fact, I’m not certain shell stand for your advances at all.” Brady had another one. ‘“ What is your assistant’s name?”’ “That you'll learn when you meet her,” smiled Hig, mentally rubbing his hands to- gether. ‘‘ No later than this afternoon.” “ Any one here by the name of Brady?” asked the bartender, who had just applied his ear to the receiver of a telephone. Mr. Bughouse B. advanced pompeously on the instrument. ‘ Hig didn’t concern himself with the one- sided conversation his new-found com- panion carried on, but, rather, gave himself over to anticipating events to come. “I don’t believe Car'Jine will even let him open ‘his mouth,” he consoled himself. “Will you have another, Mr. Higgins?” Brady had finished telephoning. Higgins would. “°S my last for the present,” Brady be- came informative. ‘‘ A friend just rang up the box-office, and they said she’d be apt to find me here. Regular walking atlases, those box-office inhabitants! But 17ll have to say ta-ta, Higgins. Got a date. Try not to let it interfere with our arrangement, though. See you some time this after- noon.” And, proffering a‘bulky hand whict flig- gins did not like the feel of, the nut come- dian walked sedately- out. “Good to look upon,” was Hig’s mental comment; “but I can see readily enough how a nice girl would grow tired of him mighty soon. By George! It wouldn’t be half bad if Car’line could see him with the dame he’s just dated. But ‘he’ll be careful to keep that to himself.” Now Hig was not a hard or frequent drinker, and already he realized that he had had enough. So he cressed the street and ate a bite of something to keep his tongue from tasting bad. Then he returned to the theater lobby and whiled away a few minutes looking over the photographs and billing of the current week’s acts. His gaze lingered fondly on his own easeled display. “To think that Car’line wants me te ditch ‘ Burned Alive ’!”’ he mumbled. “A hit from the first showing! We close the first half of the show on the strength of it. Ridiculous! Impossible!” Then he regarded closely the trim figure of the young lady standing on the crema- tion table. ‘‘ No getting round the fact that she’s stoutened since that was taken,” he declared. “I could see traces of it a while ago in her room—but she’d have got madder than she did if I’d as much as chirped a word. She knows she’s bigger - around, and she knows I know it — but Lordy! if I admitted it in so many words—”’ He glanced at his watch. ‘“ Half past one!” he whistled. “I've been hanging around here too long!”’ Hig started for the Asterpole, only a block away. As he was about to enfer the portal, a couple passed him coming out—Mr. Bughouse Brady and Caroline Humphrey. Balboa Higgins experienced a severe mental shock. Here was the very thing he had intended bringing about coming true of its; own accord—only it was coming ten times truer than he had anticipated or de- sired. Hig had believed that one look at the nut comedian would be enough for Caroline, and here she promenaded in full view with him! The conjurer stumbled into the Asterpole and up to his room. He threw himself on the bed. Gradually the fog lifted. ‘ What if she did humor him enough to take a walk with him?” he cogitated. “‘ She hasn’t see: 4. mum — een ee 8 teen 0 i ee ee cae ee ECoOnniclboooks (C(O) mM