Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 27, 1925 — page 54: what you’re looking at

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

S46 tled on Monty. “ You might figure as the misunderstood crook who has been forced through circumstances to go in for crook- ing. But they've got to be reasonable cir- cumstances, mind you. You could be an enemy of society who preys on the un- scrupulous rich. Misunderstood by all until a beautiful, rich girl falls in love with you and you retire to the great West to begin life anew. Start on your adventures.” The chief was sputtering incoherently and waving him to silence angrily. “What? No adventures? Oi, what a dumb hero!” exclaimed Monty. The chief uttered an inarticulate gasp of rage. “ Now, you're mad. That’s your weak spot, I bet —your vanity. Don’t you know vanity is a vice of small minds? Fellows who con- sider themselves big in their line, but are only peewees. You ought to be psycho- analyzed. Maybe it would dig up that when you were a kid somebody told you that you were smart.” ‘That'll do,” choked the chief, irritably gagging his prisoner with a cloth. The crook smoked in gloomy silence for a quarter of an hour. He was aroused by a peculiar whistle, followed by a tap at the door. He admitted a new man, a big, dull-faced lout with china blue eyes and close-clipped light hair. The driver, Bat, his opening remark revealed. ‘T lost that van,” he announced, shut- ting the door and pressing his ear against it after a warning gesture to the chief. For five minutes or more the two men stood, silent and motionless, while Monty stared, unable to voice a warning. Sud- denly Bat snatched open the door. At the same moment Paul rushed into the cabin with a rush of beating hands. In his grasp, fighting as the door closed to bar escape, was Ruth Lowrey. VI. | Monty stared at Ruth as she stood de- fiantly in the grasp of Paul and Bat, the former holding a hand over her mouth to prevent outcry. “Coming back, I seen her following Bat,” reported Marto pridefully. ‘ She was sleuthing along the string-piece so ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. snoopy that I tumbled right away she was trailing him. But the poor frail was so stuck on herself for beitig a shadower that she didn’t see me trailing Aer. I slipped up behind and found-her listening at the door.”’ “Aw, I was on, Chesty,” scoffed Bat, in a belligerent manner. ‘“ Don’t think I’m dumb. I tumbled to the fact that she was following me right after I ditched the bright red emu cage. I wasn’t sure, up to then. She followed me, driving in a lit- tle roadster all the way from down town. I suspicioned her, but it might have been a coincidence. So I stalled. “When I found her hanging around out- side the place where I telephoned, I was wise. I ducked into a subway and she followed. So I led her back here, know- ing she’d seen the van back up here. I figger she missed the transfer when I had the van backed right up to the door here, so she wasn’t sure we tossed this bozo in- side the scow. So she trailed me to the Bronx. And then, when I ditched the bus, she knew Craig wasn’t in it. Maybe she looked in the van. I figgered her to do just what she done. You know me, Trescott.”’ “Good work, Bat,” approved the chief, now identified as Trescott, while Paul glared jealously. ‘You, too, Paul. I think we'll get a little action now. This fatalist will feel more like talking, now that we have his girl friend as our guest. Take off his muzzle and see if he'll do a little writing. How about it, Craig?” When the gag cloth was removed, Monty presented a sardonically grinning face. The ungagging had given him a moment for fast thinking. Evidently Ruth had fol- lowed the ticket van from the time he started out in it—to watch over him. “Lady, I’m surprised at you,” he re- proved, addressing Ruth. “Don’t you know the rules? Correct, recognized stage business calls for you to come aboard disguised as a cabin boy. Why didn’t your” His mocking words brought for a fleeting moment a surprised look to Ruth’s face. Then she caught her cue and glared haughtily. COnniEaoo () SS Co