The Argosy, Vol. 90 No. 1 — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

RED HAMBLIN der to tell Ross Compty that if he despised anything in all the world, it was Saturday night, after four days’ rain, and when everybody was tired out and there wasn’t anything— Red stepped against a suit-case, and to save himself, he jumped ahead and over, landing upon another suit-case which was leaning against a small, wooden box, and though Red was agile, and -reached in all the directions, the hay-wire overhead, on which were numerous shirts, socks, and other things drying, proved too weak to give him the support he most needed. He fell upon the floor, with the drying-line full upon him, and numerous ribs bumped by corners of leather and wood. Red fought the pile of baggage in the dim light, not Sure that some of it was not alive. When a light was struck, and a lamp lit, Red was on his feet, prepared for any needful action. The logger looked around at the suit-cases, boxes, and gun-cases. “‘ Jee—gosh—-some dangwhanged party of sports—”’ “Oh, “no!” Jim Bigger hastened to cor- rect a misapprehension. ‘ Theré’s only one — Mr. D. Cuecy Pelyon’s his name—” “What — one?” Red demanded. “ But there’s—one, two-three, four, all them suit- cases and the boxes, ’sides the guns!” “Only one,” Jim shook his head. “ Mr. D. Cuecy Pelyon—”’ “Cussy Pell which?”’ Red demanded. “D. Cuecy Pelyon,” Foreman Bigger re- peated again gravely. “Well, by—um-m—D. Cussy Hellion! Ain’t that a name—friend of yours, Jim?” Red asked quickly. ‘No; Mr. Vroon sent him up here.” “Must of wanted to get rid of him!’” Red snorted. “Yes, very. likely,”’ Jim admitted. ‘“ Mr. Pelyon had been pestering Mr. Vroon a long time, for a chance to enjoy sport from one of his log camps. Mr. Vroon hated to let him in any of them. You see, Mr. D. Cuecy Pelyon might accidentally—” ‘“‘ Mistake somebody for a deer?” Red demanded. ‘ And Mr. Vroon asked him to this camp? Why, the dod-blasted—” “ Oh—Mr. Vroon asked if a tough old fellow he used to know was here — man ENTERTAINS. 85 name of Red Hamblin. Then he said per- haps we’d have a visitor—” ‘““Eh—what? The old boy said that? He seen me fight, wunst, to Forestport— time I took Old Barney, the Black River canaler, and painted his boat with him, an’ a barrel of tar fer paint! Yes, sir! By Jee! An’ he said—he said?” “He didn’t say anything, Red,” Jim ex- claimed sternly. ‘ Mr. D. Cuecy Pelyon is—er—the guest of the camp. We must entertain him!” “We'll do it!’’ Red declared vehemently. “What the—”’ All stopped to listen. Up on the ridge a few hundred feet they heard a firing and a shooting of many cartridges in swift suc- cession. The shots ceased after a time. A few minutes later, Mr. D. Cuecy Pelyon arrived in the camp lobby. “Oh, Mr. Bigger!” he shouted. “I heard a deer, and I don’t know if I hit ’im or not, but if he was there anywhere, I hit him! I certainly did!” “You shot exactly where you heard him?” Foreman Bigger asked softly. ‘You bet I did! My! He made an awful racket!” “You must have done a lot of huntin’ in your day,” Red Hamblin exclaimed, with admiration, “‘ knowing a deer by the sound of his jump!” “Oh, I’ve hunted!” the young man beamed. ‘I never hunted deer before, but I’ve hunted foxes on horseback—” ‘You're qualified!”” Red shoek his head violently. ‘* Yes, sir! Now I expect we’re going to have a lot of venison to eat in this camp—”’ “* Oh—I—-you see, I’m going to carry the deer home with me,” the hunter declared. “ Really, you know, you must have lots to eat here. You couldn’t afford to eat veni- son—it’s very expensive, you know!”’ ‘Oh, that’s all right!” Red hastened. “Come on in and set up! Supper’s ready —come on, old boy! We’ve took a shine to you. Stick that gun up in the corner— the damned thing’s loaded?” 6c Why— D. Cuecy started to hand the weapon to Red, but it slipped, and the butt fell to the floor. At that, there was a roar, and every oO Comicbooe S CO