The Argosy, April 1916 — page 173: what you’re looking at

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

a 1-7 5-4. Apponnetti was silent. “There was a crowd all right,” Slevin re- peated, turning a shade pale. ‘‘My face could be remembered by some one. Then there’s that guy Nealis.” Slevin suddenly sprang to his feet. ‘“‘Why, say, I haven’t got a Chinaman’s chance of getting away with this.” - Apponnetti, who had been relying upon the man’s thick wits to hide from him many phases of the situation which he himself recognized, looked at’ him through half- closed eyelids. “Fifteen thousand dollars instead of ten. Isn’t that worth the risk?” he said. “Worth hell!” was the reply. ‘That girl goes out of here free. What do you take me for? Say she’s shuffled out. There comes a holler. I was seen with her. Bing! I get it. I say you put me up to it; you say I’m a liar. Every one agrees with you. “Oh, I see the game you were putting over. You even saw where you wouldn’t have to cough up the ten thousand!” The fellow ripped out a black oath and started to the door. ‘Sure, I see! I was the goat. Well, not for mine. The lady goes out of here on her two feet.” “No, she doesn’t,” purred Apponnetti. ‘Ves, she does,” Slevin asserted, adding to his statement a string of oaths. “I see the whole game you rigged up. You started me going on this matter before the servants were out of the house, you yourself taking care not to be seen. You could fix it so it would appear you were never here at all. Why, one of the footmen saw me carrying the girl up stairs. Yes, he did—and you wanted him to see me. You had it ar- ranged with him.” ““T__J_—”” Apponnetti, every detail of his scheme accurately interpreted by Slevin, was at a loss for words. “Ves,” sneered the man,” you haven’t got anything to say! You thought you were slick. Well, there’s other slick per- sons in this world; it ain’t the first time I’ve had the double cross handed to me. But here’s once where it don’t get over. See?” “Your mind works swiftly,” Apponnetti said at length. “If I have not replied to you before it was because your charges are so grossly insulting—”’ “Insult you!” jeered Slevin. “Tf I have not spoken it was because you were so surprising in your statements that I couldn’t believe my ears. Have I not had dealings with you before?”’ 168 “Yes, and you’ve had dealings with other people. I know you.” ‘All right,” Apponnetti’s face was tense. “You can leave now. Get out of my sight.” ‘Sure, out of your sight,” gibed Slevin. ‘“That’s easy; you can screw up your nerve to put a doped woman out, and whether I go or stay, the thing’s fastened on me! You said you were waiting in the hall to see if the servants were out of the way. Why, you scut, you waited to make sure that they were i# the way and that they could see me with the girl.” ‘‘T have told you to go,” said Apponnetti calmly. “I want you out of my sight in two minutes; you are through.” ‘Oh, no, I ain’t through,” declared Slevin. ‘When I go out of this house it will be after I have seen this Granger girl walk out on her own two feet with her head up. You don’t catch me in any of your back action rings. The first one who goes will be you—on your head, if you don’t hurry up and beat it.’ “Slevin,” drawled Apponnetti, “I don’t know how much money you have made out of me in the past ten years, but it must be close to fifty thousand dollars. I have al- ways paid you to the dollar, haven’t I? You never saw me double cross you. You haven’t a complaint. ‘‘And now, with an insane notion spring- ing suddenly into your head you go off the handle and charge me with everything that comes into your dull head. Now then, be reasonable. You are suspicious. Well, you have been so before.s Come, we’ll have a glass of wine—” Slevin’s eyes glittered. ‘“‘No, you'll do your own drinking; none for me. I’ll wait till I see that girl walk out of here; then I’ll do some drinking on my own account.” Apponnetti came close to him, in his hand an immense roll of bills which he brandished in the man’s face. “Twenty thousand dollars, Slevin,” he said. ‘“Twenty thousand. Isn’t it worth the chance? You've taken it before.” ‘What good would the twenty thou do me?” answered the other, a crafty expres- sion in his eyes. ‘I might buy a new suit of clothes for the electric chair. Nope. Keep your money. Now get out.” -“One minute,” Apponnetti cried, as Slevin advanced toward him. “TI believe you have gone insane. Look you! Weare to pile up inflammable material in the girl’s COmicloo Cc SS C@