Argosy All-Story Weekly, July 1, 1922 — page 62: what you’re looking at

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

852 “ It ’d have to be a mighty fat wad, kid!” he mused. ‘“‘ Ah, but my father has many, many of those fat wads, as you call them,” Miss Carson said sweetly. ‘‘ Ten thousand dol- lars—would that interest you?” Emotion sent a shudder through the chauffeur; even the dark man was visibly affected. ‘“ How—how’d this be worked, lady?”’ he asked. ‘‘ Drive me to a down town subway sta- tion now, and I give you my word as a Ramsey that you shall have the money by this time to-morrow—no questions asked and no arrests—and you may make your own arrangements about receiving the cash.” She waited. For once in a way, it seemed, she had a really bright idea. But the chauffeur was sighing regretfully and the little dark man, shaking off the spell, also shook his head. “Nothing to it, lady,” he said. “ Oh, you’d probably go through with your part of it, kid—you look like sport enough for that. But when you told your papa about it—oh, no, we couldn’t take a chance like that. Say, you better get back in your room now!” ‘That means that you refuse absolutely to release mee” “It certainly does.” ‘“‘ Very well. Then I’ll have to take other measures,” Myra said briefly. ‘“There ain’t any other measures you could—” the chauffeur began. ‘““Oh, but there are—dozens of them. You're not a bit imaginative, are you? I don’t like your company; if you refuse to release me I’ll release myself!” ““ Howe”’ “ By killing myself, of course!”” Miss Car- son said. “ Hey!” cried the chauffeur. ““ Now, that ’ll be all o’ that!” the dark man stated, energetically. ‘That wild stuff won’t get you anything. You ain’t going to get let do anything like that when—” “Let? Let?” shrieked Miss Carson, and brought her voice to a pitch that was thrill-. ing if not actually blood-freezing. ‘‘ You’ve ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. nothing to say about it, of course. I shall simply fight you—all of you! —auntil one of you kills me or I drop dead of exhaustion!” She laughed horribly. She threw off her cloak and tossed her little hat atop it. She laughed again, more horribly, and swung her strong young arms and backed away a little—and just there the chauffeur, who was breathing very heavily, recaptured her and held her fast. | ‘‘ She means it! She'll start something! The woman’s a nut!” he stated. “You let me go! Let me go, do you hear?”? Myra screamed, and struggled vio- lently. ‘“‘ Let me go or—” ‘“‘ Hold her easy! Hold her easy! You’re going to bruise her that way!” the dark man cried very sharply, indeed. “Sure! Hold her easy! What d’ye think she is?” the chauffeur panted savage- ly. “This damn little brat’s stronger’n a leopard! How the—” “Cut out the swearing!” the leader snapped. “ Hold her gentle and—” “Yeh! Hold her—hold her!” Joseph thundered and threw his head far back, thus avoiding Myra’s swift, clawing hand. ‘“‘How long am I supposed to hold her? All night like this?” Still, a rather badly judged twist of Myra’s just then had delivered her to him. His giant arms wound about her, crushing her shoulder-blades to his brawny chest, which heaved astonishingly. Miss Carson, for the moment subdued, improved that mo- ment by examining the leader, the while she wheezed alarmingly and curled. back her lips, as if about to bite the arms away from her. And if the chauffeur Joseph was a little perturbed, the dark man seemed downright upset by her behavior. His face had twist- ed into a scowl, wherein hot anger mingled with something strongly resembling terror. On his dark brow perspiration glistened. ‘“‘ Lady, how long y’ figuring t’ keep up this circus?” he asked pointedly. “Till I diel” Myra snapped. “Yeh, and I guess that ’ll be about all o’ that!” the leader said conclusively. “I didn’t sign on for anything like this. I was told you was a—a tender little thing that ’d scare easy.” comicloool C©