Argosy All-Story Weekly, 4 February 1922 — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

walski’s arm hurts worse nor mine, thanks t’ the lad!” It was on the way returning to Hugh’s cabin after leaving Davies at the hotel that William received the guerdon of his valor, marking the day with a red letter for him. He had entered the ranks of hero-worship- pers since watching Hugh and Davies labor that afternoon; now he had stood up and fought with them. He bore on his body the noble wounds of war. He hoped that he had not oe himself too meanly in their eyes. “They really did mean to kill Davies, I believe,” he remarked, in effect asking for Corrotioration: “They did,” said Hugh. ‘“‘ That was a good job of kicking, William—you did well,”’ After that a crown of gold, or, let us say, a commutation ticket to New York, could not have added richness to the ending of that day, CHAPTER IX. BELLE SHANNON—ARBITER. LL night the battle-cry of brawling miners echoed on the street of Ho- bart; the skirmish raged from the smelter dumps to the iron barrier at the other end of town. Smeltermen, casually leaving a saloon were set upon, mauled, and left lying without knowing what it was all about. Miners roamed first singly, then in gangs, looking for Kowalski; failing to locate that cautious gentleman, any smelterman, they thought, would do. The miners’ general theory seemed to be that if they could find enough smeltermen, sooner or later, they might inflict merited punishment on that man, or men, who, so soon after his honor- able victory, had dared to lay an impious hand on Davies, hero of the day. The smeltermen did not take kindly to this idea. When once they learned what the ruction promised and implied, they, too, began to go about in gangs, with sad results for certain mining men. Not until gray dawn laid a pallid finger on Seco Mountain were the streets quieted; even GA THE NIGHT SHIFT, then the anger of neither miners nor smelter- > men was yet appeased. In the morning Hopewell Davies sat in a back room of the Horseshoe Club; op- posite to him, across the kitchen-table, sat Belle Shannon, and they talked of many things. Presently the conversation ran to the affairs of men; business which, to Davies’s mind, did not concern a woman. And Davies became more decided than was his habit, especially with Belle. *“‘ Ee’s na the business for the weemen f? ‘There’s soon — be mixin’ in,” he declared. wad na expect to find me hidin’ behint your skirts—Ah'll na think t’ be creepin’ there myse’n!”’ ‘“ Most of the men know you better than that,” said Belle. ‘Most is na a’,” returned Davies dog- gedly. ‘Th’ mon, Kowalski, is seekin’ trooble, an’ ee’ll be findin’ it, Ab gi’ ye thot!” ‘““ Now, look here,” said Belle; “let me show you how this thing stacks up. Kowal- ski is out to get you—I know that. But he was drunk when he tried to do it with a knife. It hasn’t helped his feelings any to have your miners hunting him all night. What would you do if you was Kowalski? You’d get a gang, and talk big, and stir up more trouble for yourself and everybody _ That’s all the sense a man has, any- — else. way. ‘A woman would get rid of him with no trouble at all. Kowalski is crazy jealous; that’s the reason he tried to put you out. But, then, just because your men can’t find him—oh, I know you had nothing to do with that—they go out last night and beat up any smeltermen they see. That’s sense again! Now, all the hunkies are sore at all 401 ~~ ba >’ , Aas the miners; that mates it safe for Kowal- ski to come out of h's hole. “The way things are going there'll be shooting before night; then Kowalski ‘will have a chance to lay the blame on you. And if you get hurt, so much the better for Ko- - walski. He coppers the bet to win either way -while you play his game the way he wants you to—that’s brains!” “Ah did na start the trooble, and Ah would na stop it gin I could,” said Davies, €O “comicbooks Ces Vad) 4 vy iy ode Pain Pas os) Dy ae . j \