Argosy All-Story Weekly — "The Purple Limited" — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

\ 600 and curses, and knew that in less than five minutes they would have consoled them- selves with Papineau’s cider. He put his head in his hands and groaned aloud. A fine mess he had made of things—all within half an hour he had seen the only girl who had made him think of a house with a baby sprawling over the floor, he had disgraced himself by starting a fight just when she seemed to take an in- terest in him, and he had smashed his reso- lution to reform before it had had time to _ become anything more than words. What _ chance would, he have with her now? He became conscious of a light touch upon his shoulder, and instantly bounded up and away. But it was the girl, stand- ing like a dream made real in the moon- light. caressing sound in her throat, and moved closer to him as he stood nuntbed by aston- ishment. “ Hello, Bill!” she said. had reformed! ” ‘Ves, ma’am, I have,’ he answered stoutly, finding words at last., ‘“‘ You give me a chance and you'll see! I’m going to work, and I won’t get in no more fights. Not unless—unless—well, I wouldn’t stand having a man put his hand on you the way Monk Grimes did!” ‘“‘Oh, Bad Bill!” she cried. ‘‘ Of all the bad men I have seen, you’re the best—and the funniest!” ‘“‘T didn’t know I was funny.” He grew a little stiff, fearing the agony of ridicule from her. . “ Funny and nice. Do you mean, Hon- est Injun, that you’re going to go to work and keep out of trouble—for me?”’ “Why, sure! What for did you think I’d do it?” " Her head turned away so that he saw her profile, rare and delicate. She swayed ever so slightly. If she had been any other girl to whom he had ever made love he would “ T thought you have seized her then in his arms and kissed her. @ ‘ Bill,” she murmured at last, “I want you.to do something for me.” “You bet I’ll do it,” he promised reck- lessly. ‘‘ I’ll do it right off—”’ “I want you to go down to Valley Forks She laughed at him, with a little ‘cords of-wood to cut. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY: \ and get a job and marry Nellie Burpee! She’s the nicest girl I know of, Bill; pretty, and a good housekeeper!” Janet McCullough melted away from him before his numbed tongue could speak. She was gone—he could not tell where— among the black shadows of the scrubs when he took a step forward and hurled -after her his refusal. “ T’ll be damned if I will!” Nothing answered that cry of outrage; and slowly he cooled to the realization that he had seen the last of her for that night. What had made her say that strange thing to hime | ley, the stiff with the white collar? Bill did not believe that she could be in love with a man not quite of her own breed; and he stubbornly refused to entertain the thought that she could be moved either by Papineau’s reputed dollars or the prestige of becoming a Hurley. So-it was that he was little happier than he had been immediately after the fight when he went, hatless and coatless, along the road toward the house of Grandma Persons, where he had been welcomed as a boarder the day before. Anyhow he would show Janet McCullough that he had meant what he said about going to work and keep- ing straight. He instinctively knew that he was a better man than Hurley—and what else could count with a girl like her? But that advice of hers, delivered just be- fore she disappeared, still troubled him. With daylight Bill Stark was up, and by noon he had proved himself by taking fifty That was enough, if he stuck to it, to set him right in the town- ship as a hard working man; and at night, after he had bought an ax and ground it, he went again to Papineau’s place for the coat that might be there if no one of the guests had seen and fancied it well enough to take the risk of Bad Bill’s wrath. There was a bright light in Daddy Pap- ineau’s kitchen and, as the night was un- usually warm, a window was half open. Thus it came about that Stark, walking noiselessly over the soft turf.of the door- - yard, could both see and hear the two oc- cupants of that room during all his progress from the tumble- down fence to the door- <“S GOMIIGIOO Was she in love with Hur- CO oe