Argosy, Vol. 118, No. 4 — page 120: what you’re looking at

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

590 “ But that knock-out dope you handed us at the finish, when we took the count! Wrong, bo! All wrong!” ‘« S-s-S-s—sure is!” ‘Don’t I place you? The lifer in the Canton croak-job?” . “T didn’t kill Swinton Tingley! You know I didn’t!” “Well, we know that we didn’t! About all we can give you is the benefit of the doubt. What makes you think that we know anything about the job?” “TI was under the trees near Tingley’s house and heard you talking.” Douglass was getting his wrath under restraint for policy’s sake. ‘“Uhuh!” grunted the man. There was a long silence. ‘“‘ Say, bo, I’ve been turn- ing my thinker back. What was the last thing, nigh-about, that you heard us talk about ?”’ 7 About getting the map of somebody’s “ And in ten seconds after came the big bang! Well, say! You were on the out- side of the house when the play was pulled off—and you know that we were. So, we won't have any more hard feelings on that point.” ‘“ $-s-s-s—sure not!” “As a matter-of-fact,” proceeded the principal interlocutor, “‘ we ought to be chums, for we’re three of .a kind. We'd better organize the ‘ Trimmed Proper So- ciety.’ You're entitled to be president, What’s-your-name! You have been trimmed the properest. You probably will never get back what they’ve taken from you—being a lifer! But as to what has been taken away from us—by the—” His oaths rose into shrill crescendo of malediction. He became incoherent. - “ S-s-s-s—same here!” agreed the man on the other side, when his friend breath- lessty gave over cursing. ‘‘ Wait till we get out!” “You know I dant do it, you men!” shouted Douglass, with a fury of his own, far surpassing theirs. ‘“ You must know who did. It’s up to you to tell me—to tell the courts.”’ “Tt is, is it? See here, bo! When a feller is down to his last nickel, he can’t THE ARGOSY. be called a tightwad-when he thinks twice about how he’s going to spend it. Seeing that you’re a lifer, you ain’t much more’n a nickel,-and a plugged one at that! But we ain’t going to drop you down a crack, just to hear you rattle!” ‘« Sus-s-s-s—certainly not!” ‘“ Do you know what happened to us on that safe-cracking pinch?’’ (7 No.”’ “Fifteen years apiece because we had a prison record! For a job that netted us about eleven dollars and an old -maid’s primpy-dingle front frizzes. Near’s we could find out she had her safe to hide her false“hair in, mostly. But we had to have money and we took a chance. Had to have money because we had just been trimmed.’”’ Again he exploded into vicious cursing. ‘“We want to get out,” he said, after getting control of himself. “ We’ve got business outside!” ‘“ $-s-s-s—sure have!” ‘You’ve got nothing on me in that line,” raved Douglass. ‘ Are you such infernal knaves that you’ll see me rot in State prison when you can say the word that can straighten this thing?” ‘“EKasy, bo! You’re our Fed nickel, remember! Got to be careful of our assets right now.” -“T can give you a clear bill on the Tingley business!” “We don’t need it. We're not doing fifteen years for that job. And you can’t give us something special that belongs to that Tingley business. We’ve got to get it for ourselves. And we can’t get it by stay- ing im here and whistling. What do you thing you can do about getting us out?” It was such blunt query about a hope- — less proposition that it took away Doug- lass’s breath. When he was able to speak he railed at the inquirer, bestowing on him names that called his general mental con- dition seriously into question. ‘That line of talk doesn’t get you any- thing, bo,” objected the gentleman who had been assailed. “I’m trying to find out what our plugged nickel will buy?” It was maddening insistence on the im- possible! NOOO (C(O) S (CO)