Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 17, 1924 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

TARRAPIN TOES. A great cloud of steam arose, a sizzling sound accompanying it, reminding Everett of the scene he had often beheld when a blacksmith thrust a red. hot iron into the slack tub. ‘The rising steam gave them an opportunity to locate the exact place in the lake where the portion of the meteor had fallen. “ Oh, let’s go get it now!” Lois shouted in great excitement. “We can’t drag the lake to-night,” her father answered. ‘“‘ Everett and I can dive for it,” Lois declared. ‘ll put on my bathing suit and Everett can wear yours, and you can chaperone the bathing party. Come on, daddy!” ‘(All right,’ Roone laughed easily. ‘““You get my suit for Everett and you two get ready for deep sea diving. Ill go down and get the skiff ready for the expedition.” Ten minutes later the young man and woman raced each other down the hill and sprang into the skiff. Roone rowed them to the spot where the meteor had fallen, as nearly as they could estimate, and then held the skiff while the two leaped into the water, each eager to find the treasure. Both of them came up, panting. Neither had been able to touch bottom. “ How deep is this lake, at this point?” Everett asked. . “ At least fifty feet,” Roone answered. They tried again and again to reach the bottom of the lake. But while they regarded themselves as expert swimmers, the effort to reach the bottom of a lake fifty feet below changed their views of their ability as swimmers. Every effort to bring up even a handful of mud was a failure. But they had a good time making the effort, and Colonel Roone seemed to enjoy directing the sport. At last when both of them were thoroughly exhausted, they climbed into the skiff and sat down. “TLet’s get a pole and feel for the thing and see if we can touch it,” Lois proposed. “ Where’ll we get a pole fifty feet long?” Roone asked and that ended that. After a while Everett Kurtin began to chuckle. “ The last time I went swiming in this 181 lake I played hookey from school,” he said. “You remember Old Flounce’s hogshead, Lois?” “ Who will ever forget it?” Lois asked. “ That old sister had that hogshead up on the platform beside her desk. She had a heavy top on it, and a big bunghole in the center. When a little boy or girl misbe- haved Old Flounce would pick us up, all squirming and kicking and squalling, and put us down in that barrel. Then she would fasten the top and let us think over our sins and misdemeanors, until we brought forth works meet for repentance. Then she. would admonish us through the bunghole until we promised to behave ourselves in future.” “Did she put you in the barrel after you swam in this lake?” Lois asked. “She did, and I promised her through the bunghole that I would never play hookey again.” They walked back to the house and found Tucker Roone on the porch playing with a terrapin. ‘““Where’d you get that insect?” Lois asked. “ Buckety got it offen Manse Verdell, and I got it offen Buckety,” Tuck answered. ‘“*Lookit! I call him my mascot. When IT come to a street corner I never know which way to turn, so I wait until this terra- pin sticks out his head and whatever way he looks, I go!” ‘Suppose he don’t stick out his head?” Everett asked. “Then I stay right there,’ Tuck an- swered. “I don’t take no chance in going nowhere, ‘That is what made me so late coming home to-night. This old terrapin went to sleep on me.” “How did you wake him up?” Lois asked. ““T laid a lighted match on his back,” Tuck told her. ‘*‘ When his old back got hot, he had to move to a cooler place, and he turned this way, so I lit out for home!” “ That’s a new idea to me,” Everett said. ‘“‘ Ain’t you never heard of the luck of a terrapin toe?” Tuck asked in surprise. té Ves.” my ‘ Well, I’ve just got four times that much » (EO) DOO AMG S (C@)