Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 170: what you’re looking at

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

736 ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. up my mind now, and far from being sur- prised that you are reading ‘ Macbeth,’ I don’t believe I’d be surprised if I had heard you'd written it.” If David was pleased at this sincerely spoken compliment, he did not show it. He flung one knee across the other, and, tak- ing one of his long, black cheroots from his pocket, began to chew upon it thought- fully. “You want me to get straight to the point,” went on Bert, “so that’s what I’m going to do. I came to see you to find out if you can help me to get the Majestic go- ing again.” “H-m!” said David. ‘“ What do you need help fer now, son? Now that you’ve cleaned out Turner—o’ course you know that him an’. Bidwell left on the 6.20 this mornin’—an’ got the Board o’ Seelectmen to revoke that there power-house franchise, why don’t you go ahead with your rest-re- sort idear? You seemed purty fond o’ that jest t’other day.” | “You made me lose faith in it, David,” Bert replied. “I’ve been talking it over with Fred all day, and—and it doesn’t look . so good to us now. I’m afraid it could never become a big thing.” “* An’ so you come to me,” said David; “you finally come to me. The lion goes an’ claws up durn near all o’ Selma, an’ then he gits tangled up in the net, an’ can’t move hand nor foot. Harder you pull, the tighter it draws, eh?” “ That’s about the size of it. I’m tan- gled up, good and proper. I’ve borrowed ten thousand dollars on my property, and then I’ve sunk it into the place, for repairs. And I can’t see my way out, David.” . ‘“‘ What makes you think I kin help you?” David asked. “ Because you’ve hinted again and again that you could,” replied Bert, “only I didn’t trust you until lately, David. I—I couldn’t understand you.” “IT guess ,you’ve been told all about my pussonal hist’ry, ain’t you?” inquired David. “The story of my life, so to speak?” | rT Yes; J—” “JT thought so,” said David. “My friends like to talk about me jest like most folks like to talk about a operation. It gives ’em jest enough pain in the tellin’ to make it kinder pleasant. Folks as had a lot o’ trouble, or know about a lot o’ troubles that others has had, never find themselves wantin’ fer somethin’ to talk about. I reckon they told you that I used to weigh considerable more than I do now?” “Yes; and—” “ Anybuddy to hear all about me—how I lost all my money an’ even my datter, Em- ma—anybuddy to hear about that ’d likely calc’late that worry is a preat flesh-reducer, wouldn’t they? Folks must've told yeu I got thin like this from worryin’. Funny thing about it is that I don’t b’lieve in wor- ‘ryin’ over what’s happened no more’n I b’-. lieve in a man keepin’ on a-diggin’ a knife in hisself jest b’cause he was stabbed once. I reckon I worried a mite once—especially jest after Emma ran away from me—but not hardly enough to git rid of a hundred pounds o’ fat.” ““You’ve been very sick, David?” “Sick? Well, folks hereabouts like to think o’ me as a sick man, an’ I ain’t the kind to deny nobuddy a leetle harmless pleasure. Folks meet me on the street an’ say: ‘ Feelin’ purty bad agin, David?’ An’ if I say: ‘No; I’m feelin’ fust rate,’ they look so surprised they’re almost dssap- pointed. So TI jest learned to say: ‘ Tol’r- able ’—which they take as meanin’ half- dead, an’ everybuddy’s more satisfied. - “ Truth is, though, I been feelin’ bet- ter ’n’ stronger since I weigh one-twenty than when I weighed two-twenty. A skin- ny man don’t look so healthy, mebbe, but he ain’t got the ailin’s a fat man’s got. At that, I reckon I wouldn’t look so bad if I could afford to buy nice clothes an’ things.” “Tf it wasn’t from sickness an’ it wasn’t from worry,” said Bert, ‘“ what made you get thin?” “ That’s the question fat people ’d give — millions o’ dollars to git the answer of,” re- plied David. “I uster spend a pile o’ money myself trying to git rid 0’ some o’ my fat. Why, I used to go up to the springs up-State every year fer a while to take them baths an’ try to reduce. An’ I was jest one of thousands., But it didn’t do me much good.. I’d sweat off ten pounds 10 A (C(O) nn) (C 6)(0)©) KS (CO in