Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 51: what you’re looking at

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

there did not seem to be anything she could do about it. She flashed a silent appeal at Dan Sherrard, who watched her from the little platform at the end of the dancing space. He grinned at her in a peculiar manner, but did not come to her aid. Men and women were dancing now with glasses of liquor in their hands. They thrust these glasses into Alice’s face and in- sisted that she should drink. She refused— she was determined not to drink another drop no matter what happened—and this enraged one man to such an extent that he threw his glass of liquor into her face. A fight threatened then, but the man was dragged away and the “ fun” proceeded. The woman called Babe wiped Alice’s face and said, “You gotta get used to rough guys like that, deary.” Suddenly the big fellow who had born her to the dance hall on his shoulder el- bowed his way through the mob that sur- rounded her, and, before she knew what he was about, seized her as before and boosted her up on top of a table. “‘Le’s see y’ dance, kid,” he said. Enraged and alarmed now, Alice looked down at the crowd that surged around her, laughing and shouting, cheering her and commanding her to dance. ‘““T won’t!”’ she cried. ‘ You have no right to ask me to make a show of my- seli!”’ ‘Huh? Wha’s matter, kid?” The big fellow was leering up into her face. “ Ain't we all havin’ good time togezzer? Ain’t gettin’ ‘shamed o’ your little playmates, are yuh?” Looking all around her, Alice saw that the drunken grins of the men were slowly giving way to more alarming expressions. “I want to get out of here!” she ex- claimed, and tried to jump to the floor. Hands clutched her ankles and held her to the table top. “ What t’ hell's the matter with you?” snarled the big fellow. <“ Ain’t we good enough for you? We were all right a little while ago when you wanted us to set that nha 800d-for-nothin’ husband of yours ce. We did it, didn’t we? An’ now we can go t’ hell! We can, heh?” J She felt cheap and sordid and low, but you're saying? The big fellow’s laught the hall. An ominous silenc the lawless assemblage. Scowls every face. ™ “ Think we swallowed that gu Y about Allan bein’ an innocent guy? — hell we did! Think we don’t know himi I'll say we do! Right this evenin’ he was here, lappin’ up booze and tryin’ to get — fresh with the girls—” —_ “You lie!” ‘How about it, boys?” The big fellow appealed to his companions. ‘ Ain’t that guy that we got out o’ jail the same one that was gettin’ fresh with Babe?” ‘“‘ He sure was.” ‘Helluva nerve she’s got, pullin’ that Sunday-go-to-meetin’ stuff on us.” “ His wife? Maybe!” These and similar expressions came from every side. “You are liars! All of you!” Alice looked down into the sea of brutal, leering faces. ‘‘ Let me out of here,” she cried. “Not till we’re through with you, kid,” answered the big fellow. “ Not till you show a lil appreciation of what we done for you. We risked a heap o’ trouble to get your man out, an’ now, by Jupiter, you’re goin’ to give us a little fun.” Alice glimpsed Sherrard, elbowing through the crowd to her table. He reached her side and whispered: “You're in a bad jam, girlie. I can get you out, but you got to be nice to me afterward. See? I’ve been struck on you from the minute I saw you—”? With all her strength Alice slapped Sher- rard’s face. ‘All right, damn you! The wolves can have you. I’m through.” The proprietor moved away, cursing and swearing. Babe saw him coming in her direction and moved hastily off. She was afraid of Sherrard. She went out to the veranda and stood there, looking in at Alice, and from her to the distant lights of the nearest rail- toad camp. Around the table on which Alice still — stood, the crowd of brutes jammed closer _ and closer. She looked down int their-esjl