Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 13, 1925 — page 52: what you’re looking at

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

O24 ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. one of the passengers was worth more than two thousand dollars!” ‘Wait a minute, son. Ye mean by th’ gross?” “Don’t be ridiculous! The diamonds alone on that watch were worth a thousand dollars. And the judge’s bankroll was more than a thousand. And-—and—” “And Red Wilpin got away with all that?” Karl the Killer gasped admiringly. ‘“ Yes——yes—yes/ And more! The party has offered a reward of seventy-five hundred for the return of only those things I’ve enumerated.” Yost suddenly clicked his teeth and looked excitedly from the face of one bad man to the other. “Look here,” he snapped. ‘ You come with me, help me capture this rascal, and that old fool he has with him and Ill split the reward with you three ways. That’s twenty-five hundred bucks apiece. Are you on? That’s taking into consideration, of course, that I get the girl.” The smile that had descended upon Karl the Killer’s thin cruel lips abruptly faded away. “ Nothin’ doin’, Give me th’ gal and each of us twenty-five hundred bucks, and we'll do business.” “Wall, how ’bout me?” Gory Oliver put in in a complaining voice. “ How about givin’ me th’ gal?” ‘Be yoreself, Gory Oliver! That gal took one look at you and nearly fell out cf her saddle in a daid faint. Ya skeered th’ livin’ daylights outa th’ pore leetle thing. No, boys, Vil tak keer o’ th’ leetle gal. That’s final.” ‘‘ Supposing,” Julius suggested, ‘‘ we toss a coin and see who’s to have the girl, That’s fair enough, isn’t it? The odd man wins.” He extracted a copper penny from his pocket, and the two bad men likewise pro- duced coins. ‘Odd man wins th’ gal?” Karl the Kil- ler repeated. “Yep. Odd man wins.” “Toss yore coins, gents.” The coins were tossed and eagerly in- spected. Each of the bad men held coins with tails uppermost; Yost’s was a head. ‘“T’ve won the girl!” he said triumph- antly. ‘“ Yes, son, ya’ve won th’ gal by square, honest, and above board methods. And we'll split th’ seventy-five hundred three ways, buh?” ‘ Or, if we feel like it,” Gory Oliver sug- gested amiably, “ we'll jest keep th’ stuff ourselfs. Whut else has Red got besides whut ya’ve mentioned?” The Easterner’s eyes suddenly widened. “Good Lord! I almost forgot! They took the U. S. mails.” “ Th’ U. 8. mails!” Karl the Killer and Gory Oliver gasped in unison. They shook their heads with one accord. ‘“ Th’ deal’s off,”’ Gory Oliver said firmly. ‘‘ Karl and me don’t go monkeyin’ with no U. S. mails.” ‘ Besides,” his partner put in, “ it’s too risky anyhow. Ef thar was more of us, and ef it wa’n’t fer the U. S. mails, I’d say let’s go. Ya shore are onderestimatin’ th’ man yo’re a-trailin’, son. Red Wilpin c’n out- shoot any ten men in Carcass County. Am I exaggeratin’, Gory?” “Ya shore ain’t, pardner. That boy’s pappy took him out to shoot Indians f’m a hoss’s back when he was skassly old enough t’ walk. Karl and me’re real smart men when it comes t’ quick drawin’ and fast and snappy delivery, but, shucks!—-we’re leetle kiddies compared t’ Red Wilpin. No, som If you're a-goin’ after Red Wilpin ya’d bet- ter hire ya a posse. That boy’s too gifted.” “Will you men join the posse?” Julius eagerly demanded. “We might—-fer a consideration. Where at are ya a-goin’ t’ git th’ posse?”’ “ Right back there at the stage coach! There are three able-bodied men waiting there.” Karl the Killer looked thoughtful. “ Supposin’ we do a little dickerin’.. My pardner yere and me, we know this coun- try. Our suvvices is wuth hard cash. S’posin’ we j’ine up with yore posse, do Gory and me git all the reward money? Don’t fergit, yo’re gittin’ th’ leetle gal.” “That suits me, gentlemen. Shall we start?” The two bad men exchanged long, preg- nant glances. It was not necessary for these strong taciturn souls to exchange words. Glances sufficed. That which en- Ccomiclbooks. CO@ im