Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 3, 1924 — page 16: what you’re looking at

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

806 from Herzog’s eyes as he focused his vision in an intensity of light upon the rawhide face of his unwelcome guest. ‘You ain’t goin’ to leave, you say? I understand. Well, damme, if that ain’t too bad! This ain’t really the place for you.” A happy remark Herzog realized and he re- peated it. “This here is a terrible place for a big, fine specimen of mankind which T see you standin’ before me.” “Suits me all right enough,” the other said. ‘ And I’m goin’ to live here. You ain’t goin’ to throw me out. No, don’t say that. Don’t even suggest it. Don’t so much as think it. I never get throw’d out of nowheres. Every boarding master from New Orleans to Panama knows enough not to try throwin’ me out!” “T ain’t goin’ to throw you out, mate,” the other said placatingly. ‘“ But all as I want to say is something for your own good. Let me tell you a thing or two about this here place. It’s making me crazy. T’m slowly losing my mind. Why? [ll tell vou: This here tavern, as you might say, is simply soppin’ with blood. It was all right in the old days. It was an old Mexican’s hacienda and peaceful-like. I bought it and it was a good tavern, a peaceable gambling den, until they built that ship channel and the ocean going freighters come up here nosing right into the corrals of our backyard, which in the old days was for our cattle. “Vou can’t do a thing like that with old Mother Earth now can you? She gets even with you for changing the face of sea and land! And let me tell you, mate, since we've had sailors from the sea coming here, ain’t a night passes but some one gets a knife sliced across their back . Mate, it’s horrible! I can’t do nothin’ with the place. I’m advisin’ you like a father advises his son, you-all stay outen here. Go back to your levees or wherever you belong. Get a job as a wharfinger, coal heaver, anything— but stay away from this here hell hole.” “IT won't do nothin’ of the kind, mine host. Everything you say of this joint gets me likin’ it ten times more. I’m here to stay.” “ All right, mate, then let me tell you just what happened here in one single night. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY~ WEEKLY. It ‘ll be the truth what I’m tellin’ you, so help me God. And if you still want lodging here, all right, you’re a great man. You see this here scar?” Herzog bared an ugly whitish wound. The other looked at it and smiled. ‘“‘ Who done it?” he asked. “ A patron? I thought so. Well, that ought to teach you a lesson to treat your patrons proper. I'll have another swig outen that Mexican jug.” Herzog looked broken-hearted. His scar had always been a high card. But he went on fervently: ‘“‘ This here scar was the least that happened that night, mate. Murders! Holy cripes! You’d oughta seen them! It was all about four months ago. A big freighter cast its anchor right out there ’»— he pointed to a field. ‘“ You can’t see the water, can you now? That’s what makes them ships so uncanny. Looks like they’re on their way right up into the Texas cattle country. If you saw one in the Panhandle it wouldn’t look crazier. Now that there freighter—the Orinoco was the name of ‘it’ ‘“‘T remember the tramp,” the other said. *Wouldn’t ship on her if she was Noah’s Ark itself and not another thing floatin’. Not even a scurvy rat would stay on her— hell ship that she was—-Skipper Jarvy— murderous old skunk.” “That’s it! He was the one. He comes ashore with his mate and a boson. What does this fool mate, Grimpen his name was —what’s he do but get hisself knifed. They dress my barmaid up in some old rags from a sea chest and she goes loony. Thinks she’s a queen comin’ to life from Yucatan and the whole place is like a soppin’ ty- phoon had struck us comin’ up the Carib- bean Sea! Knifin’, throat cuttin’ and blood murder! All for the sake of this rotten little wench who gets some silk on her back outen a dead man’s sea chest! “ Well, as a result of that night, mate, I get this here slash all but cuttin’ an artery in two. Another man gets his belly gored by a bull, another goes crazy, another is murdered with a cane knife. And the damned minx who started it all—that bar- maid of mine—runs off to sea with the boson, taking with her the mozo I brought with me from northern Texas. And I’ve COMIC ooo! (©