Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 1, 1922 — page 59: what you’re looking at

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

THE FUR CLOAK. “ Lissen, kid!” croaked he. ‘ Y’ dunno what you're up against here and you're makin’ a big mistake. That’s what I come in t’ tell you—see? You shut your trap and sit tight, and you might get out o’ this all right. But when you start throwing fits you’re gettin’ so close to a funeral you can pretty near smell the flowers!” he pur- sued terribly. ‘ Y’ see them hands, kid? They could take you and bust you in a mil- lion pieces so quick that—”’ “T’m not interested in your hands; they’re filthy! Let me pass!” ‘Pass nothin’!” the large man gasped. “‘ You beat it back there or—” ‘‘ ‘You let me pass or Ill scream until they can hear me on the other side of the Hud- son River!’ said the gentle captive. A really appreciative grin had come to the features of the dark little man. “Let her pass, Joe!” he ordered quietly, and examined Myra with considerable new interest as she crossed the hall at a cool saunter and entered the living room. She looked the dark man up and down. ‘‘T suppose I’m to thank you,” she said. “I do. Now open that outer door and tell that hulk to drive me back to the Aldean Hotel and nowhere else.” Thereupon she waited, inwardly tense, al- most convinced that she would be obeyed. In this, however, she erred. The dark man looked puzzled, although he still smiled. “You better stand by that outside door, Nick,” he said reflectively. ‘I guess this lady ain’t anybody y’ take a chance on.” ‘“‘ Are you going to do it?”’ Miss Carson asked. “No, lady, we couldn’t do all that,” the dark one smiled. ‘‘ We’d like to please you, but we couldn’t do that.” Myra eyed him steadily and with an evil smile. “For the last time,” she said quietly, ‘ will you do as I have said, or shall I begin to make more noise than—”’ ‘“‘ Now, listen, lady,”’ the dark man said, as quietly, although there was a keenly anx- ious note in his voice. ‘I know how you feel, but you wanter be reasonable. We’ve got you, you know; there’s no gettin’ around that, is there?. You’re here and there ain’t another house in two blocks. So if you 849 just want to be reasonable, Miss Ramsey, and—and let me explain—”’ Despite herself, Miss Carson knew that she had started. So her name was Ramsey now? ‘There was bound to be some sort of aftermath to all this; a little pause just here, so that it yielded information, might not be wasted. The chauffeur person was growing con- cerned, too. “Sure. That’s the stuff!” he said. ‘* Let’s be reasonable. Have a chair, lady? Have a—have a sandwich?” This time Myra winced, albeit she felt constrained to sneer at him. “ Possibly, if you don’t handle it—” “Get them sandwiches, Joe,” the dark man ordered swiftly. ‘‘ Leave ’em tied up in the paper—and bring in that coffee and a clean cup and the condensed milk. Now. Just sit there, Miss Ramsey. That’s a pretty comfortable chair.” The captive complied. In the adjoining kitchen there was much hurried thumping about. Joseph, the chauffeur, reappeared and placed beside her a rather greasy pack- age of prodigious size—and still, from that package floated odors so rare, so enticing that Miss Carson’s dainty fingers shook a little as she opened it. The dark person watched her intently as she took the first bite. She was quiescent for a little, and more than this, apparently, he did not ask. “* Now, I just wanter tell you something about all this, Miss Ramsey,” he said very gently and very earnestly. ‘“ You don’t wanter blame us fellers too much; times are pretty hard and we have to pick up a little change whenever we can, y’know. I guess you don’t understand why you're here?”’ ‘“‘T do not,” said Miss Carson, and select- ed another sandwich. “Well, no more do we,” the other pur- sued helpfully, ‘“‘ only we were told to bring you here. On the level, I couldn’t tell you a thing more about that part of it if you was to offer me a million dollars. Point is, we did bring you and we don’t want any trouble and you don’t want any trou- ble and everything’s going to be nice and pleasant if you’ll just do your part.” comicloool C©