10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 30: what you’re looking at

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

28 you a bunch of bum steers, and you wound up broke because you thought you were still getting the answers from the back of the book. The next step, you'll be found full of slugs.” “Damn it,” Giles burst out, throw- ing up his fists and banging the roof of the car. “Leave me alone, Keat- ing.” “T’m working up to something,” Keating remarked. “Your trouble started because you were given the job of fixing the fight, and you can’t handle Jake Frey or Plummer. You had to tell that at headquarters, and it got two strikes called on you. Your bosses are wondering what the hell they’re keeping you around for, if you can’t do a job when you're told to.” “So what?” Giles bellowed hoarsely. “So you’re in the crack.” Keating tried to show that he understood, even sympathized a bit. “I know what it means. I’ve seen more than one man that was picked up after the mob was finished with him. You know it’s either fix this fight or take the works. } know what it is to think you’re co- operating and swinging a lot of weight, and suddenly find out you’re nothing but a hired man. It’s hap- pened to me.” Keating stopped, and the car was full of Giles’ loud tortured breathing. “You see Jake Frey today, Giles?” “What if I did?” Giles groused, staring down between his wide knees at the dark floor of the car. “Then you know’—Keating snapped on the parking lights— “that Jake has the sign on you. If you buck Jake, you’re in for it.” Keating made it sound as if he knew what Jake had on Giles. “If Plummer loses or throws the fight, Jake will come down on you. You’ve spoiled Plummer’s conditioning even if you don’t make Plummer dive. I know this will be over your head, but Jake has ideas about honesty, and stuff like that. “To get down to your level, the situation stands with you caught be- 10-STORY DETECTIVE tween your bosses and Jake. If you fix the fight, or if you don’t fix it, you’re in for trouble, There’s a way out, Giles.” Keating grasped Giles’ arm hard. “I’m warning you, don’t take that exit.” Giles stared at him. “Good cripes! You think ’d—” EATING leaned close. “Some- body might suggest it. ... I want you to know from right here, that putting Jake in the morgue won’t solve anything.” Giles jerked, thrashed about, broke out of the grip. “All right.” Giles got out of the ear. Keating watched him stomp along in the lights that sprang up in the store windows as Giles went along, as though they were so many eyes coming to life, gleaming mock- ingly at the stoop-shouldered Dig man. Keating sighed, wrung his hands hard. Is it lousy to see a man walking in the valley of death, and herd him back in when he tries to climb out? Keating shuddered, turned his lights up, started the motor and drove away. His first impulse was to take the road to the country again. He remembered that Jake had a married sister across the bridge. Keating drove over the bridge. As Keating got to the foot. of the stoop, Jake came out of the house, Jake’s face lighted up immediately, clouds disappeared from his eyes, and his fleshy nose lifted as it did when Jake whiffed a good dinner cooking. “So hello Wesling!” Jake stood on the top step, his eyes level with Keating’s. Then Jake clumped down to the street to Keating, raised his hands and clapped Keating in the vicinity of the elbows. “Wesley!” Keating corrected. He’d tried so long to get Jake to pronounce it correctly that he’d given up; the ex- clamation was purely automatic. “Sure, Wesling! So what am I call- ing you? Charlie?” Jake grinned and breezed right along. “So you’re ask- Gomichbooks (C@