Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 7, 1922 — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

216 that there might be some who were willing to bet. Johnny had played two exhibitions, and had won them both so easily that his tutor had come to the conclusion that the boy was well-nigh invincible. In that crowd were men with the cracker- barrel look on them, and especially one severe-looking man of about thirty whose chin faded away into a collar several sizes too large for him. He had been there be- fore, and the Professor had watched his game against his peers—he had not played with Johnny—and had seen him win con- sistently. But when it came time for the exhibition matches he had always been ‘elsewhere; this wasgthe first time that he had been where the ballyhooer could lay his hand on him. The Professor leaned over and put his hand on his shoulder. “ Friend, you’re a pretty good checker player, arer’t you?” The other, who had been looking Johnny over as though he were a mysterious kind of beetle, gave the stern reply: “I lost a game two years ago in September.” The smile that this got from the Pro- fessor was perfect, for it assured the young man that his greatness had at last found true appreciation, and it told the crowd that here was something good. The ballyhooer shifted his hand from the candidate’s shoul- der to his elbow, guided him along the edge of the platform and up the steps to a seat beside Johnny, where he sat down, crossed his bony knees and tried to look as though he were used to being the cyno- sure of all eyes. “ Remember,” said the Professor, “ you are Number One.” Johnny chuckled, and, catching the: eye of a girl in the crowd, winked. The Pro- fessor put his hands on his knees and bent over with the most engaging smile while he surveyed the people in front of him— long-faced, bearded, solemn-eyed men. He wanted another good one. ‘“‘ Pick me a hard-boiled one,” said John- ny out of the side of his mouth. “I’m feeling great to-day. Maybe this. guy knows somebody that’s as good as he is.” “A good idea!” said the Professor loud- ly. ‘“* Friend, if you know any one else in ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. this crowd of your own caliber, I’d take it as a great favor if you’d point them out.” Number One sat up and ran his cold eye over the group. One by one they came under that frigid glance, and one by one they went down for the count, until on the edge of the crowd he saw a red-faced farmer standing with his head tipped back, apparently hypnotized by the smoothness of the Professor or the excellence of the picture that showed Johnny beating all the champions of Europe. Under his arm he carried a fat Plymouth Rock hen, who turned her silly eye this way and that. The Professor slapped his hands together and came down the steps, threaded his way through the crowd, and escorted the silent farmer to a seat on the other side of the boy marvel, for at sight of him Number One had said, “ That’s the one that beat me.” ‘““Now remember,” said the Professor, “youre Number Two.” Then he turned with a good-natured grin and said to the people who had stood spellbound at this curious exhibition: “ All right, folks—you can run along now to your hot-dog parlors and merry-go-rounds, and such vulgar forms of amusement. Nothing is going to happen here except this boy—this twelve- year-old boy—is going to take on these two champions. I am pitting the lad against these two grown men whose combined ages amount to ”—he bent his head and whis- pered to his two victims, and, after they had whispered back, he went on—“ sev- enty-four! Seventy-four years of expe- rience pitted against twelve years of expe- rience. And one game will be give-away and the other regular drafts. In case any of you should care to see the match the admission is twenty-five cents, and if any of you want to spend a quiet half hour over the boards you can have a set of men for another two bits. To the men who win goes a prize. I’m not saying what it is, but what is it that isn’t human and has hands?” ‘ He held up a small box between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and tapped it with the forefinger of the other.” Number One saw a diffiqulty at once, and said: ‘‘ What if we both win?” comiclbooolx C©