Argosy All-Story Weekly, April 18, 1925 — page 58: what you’re looking at

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

208 him, he'll quit crabbin’. yer eggs?” Mr. Fitch was still reading at nine o’clock when his attorney was admitted. ‘““ How do you feel, Claude?” asked Noble Howard. “T was looking at the trial jury’s faces as they filed in with a verdict of ‘ guilty as charged,’ until I read the Times. That chap showed a little sense. He didn’t set the electrocution quite so close, at least.” “T talked with him last night,” said Noble Howard. ‘“‘ Come over by the win- dow. Of course, the Times would treat you leniently, since you are a part owner of it, you know.” Mr. Fitch’s look of high disdain merged into one of surprise. ‘““T didn’t know it,” said he emphatically. “ How did that come about?” ‘“ Why, it was one of the trust securities that your father left you,” said his attor- ney. ‘I thought you’d looked them over.” ‘““T looked over the list and the dividends the different stuff was paying and added up the total,” said Mr. Fitch. “ Well, what about my case?” Noble Howard tossed his hat on Mr. Fitch’s unmade couch and drew a chair close to him. ‘What else can you tell me about what happened in the library?” ‘About the shooting?” ‘ Before and after it. You knew Ordway Marshall was coming. How did you know that?” ‘Why, when Mordaunt came to drive me home from the mills, I stopped uptown to get a box of cigars. I sent him in for them as usual. While I waited for him to come out of the tobacconist’s, along came the mayor. He came toward the machine. I opened the door and spoke to him.” ‘What did he say?” “T said: ‘ Good evening, Ordway. How is everything going with you?’ He said the municipal business was going fairly well; I think he said something about just coming from a meeting with some commission or other—”’ “ About a push-cart ordinance?” asked Howard. His client nodded. How do you like “ Then I asked him ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. if I could give him a lift home, and he said no. So I waited for him to say whatever he had in mind when he came over to speak to me, if anything.” ‘““ Anything else?” asked Howard. Mr. Fitch said the mayor had asked if he would be in town during the next few days; that he had replied he was going to the city the next day; that he didn’t know just when he would be back; that the mayor then said he would like to drop up and see him that evening, if he could spare the time; that he had invited him to come up and have dinner, but the mayor had a meet- ing of the city council to attend, and said he would “ step up as soon as it was ad- journed, if it wouldn’t be too late,” as the matter was one he wanted to discuss before Mr. Fitch went away. “1 left the date open,” said Mr. Fitch, “and told him to come up that evening, if I fitted his plans and I would chat with him.” “Did he then say what he was going to talk about?” “No. Not a word. I didn’t know but it might be about the mills; some ordinance, perhaps, or something about the police ar- rangements—or the fire protection—I had no inkling whatever.” “But he gave you an inkling when he arrived?” ‘““He talked off the key at first,” said Mr. Fitch, frowning. ‘‘Apologized for com- ing so late, but said they had been discus- sing the same ‘push-cart’ ordinance, and he was opposed by aldermen from the south part of town; and had to use police figures to win them over. I wasn’t interested— besides, I wasn’t feeling just myself.” Noble Howard glanced at him sharply. “Go on,” he urged. ‘‘ What next?” Mr. Fitch seemed nervous. “I wish I had a smoke to steady my nerves,” said he. ‘‘ Noble, when you leave, will you have Mordaunt go to the house and ask either my aunt or Miss Dale to go to my den and send me over a box of cigars—my own brand?” “Surely. I don’t smoke myself, Claude, so you'll have to manage without it. Try and think connectedly, please, for your own sake no less than mine.” . 3 A (E@) mie .OO