10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 35: what you’re looking at

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

BULLET BANDWAGON . TSD Plummer never cared for the fight game. He told me to my face that he was sick of training and doing with- out things he wanted.” Giles grinned bitterly. “The guys at the top, who think they’re so smart, foxed them- selves on this one.” Keating nodded. “You mean that they’re sick of the champ?” “Who isn’t?” Giles exploded. “He won’t fight, and when he does he’ll be a pushover. All we wanted was for Plummer to win tomorrow night. Then the big shots were going to match Plummer with the champ right away. Plummer would have met the champ in a few months, and taken him easy. But the big lazy bum, he saw the way the odds were going, and decided to make a fortune betting against himself.” Keating thought it over. “T guess I believe you, Giles. I had a hunch that Plummer wasn’t anxious to be a fighter. I looked him over to- day and I could see the guy hated this work of conditioning himself. Why didn’t you tell Jake the whole truth? You know how square Jake is.” Keat- ing rested a hand on little Jake’s shoulder. “Jake would have laced into Plummer.” Giles swerved his eyes to Jake, dropped his gaze to the ground. “T was desperate. No use telling you that Jake wouldn’t have believed me. The important thing was, that be- cause I couldn’t fix Plummer, the big shots decided I was losing my touch.” Giles’ face fell. “I knew I was fin- ished. They put the screws on and I lost my dough. Next, just as you said, would come a burst of slugs and some cop would fall over my body in an alley. I had to get out of town.” Giles drew a deep, tremulous breath. | E went on: “I put the bee on Plummer, I told him to go ahead, lose, but he had to pay me off. I wanted half what he was going to win. Only, I wanted it before the fight. If I stayed in town, I wouldn’t 33 be alive to collect after Plummer threw that fight. Plummer said he was getting the money; he phoned me to come up here tonight and get it.” “You must have been late,” Keating put in. “Because Plummer phoned me. The guy wasn’t crazy—he must have figured on a schedule that would get me here just after he finished killing you and Jake.” “T was here, but I didn’t show my- self,” Giles shrugged. “I’m not crazy either, and I knew blackmailing Plummer was a risky job. Finally, when Plummer came out of the house, I stepped forward. “Plummer said to wait a minute, he was going to get Jake. When [I heard that, I knew the wind was blowing wrong. Plummer tried to grab me, and I started to fight. Plum- mer had an axe under his jersey. I let go with my gun, and ran.” “You gonif,” Jake screamed, “into me you are running, and knocking me out cold like a herring.” Keating patted Jake’s shoulder. “Giles saved your life, Jake, If Piummer had thought you were able to get away, Plummer would have killed you, then gone after Giles. Don’t you see it, Jake? Plummer wanted to bash your head with the axe, then kill Giles, and say he killed Giles for killing you. “But the way it worked out, Plum- mer saw Giles getting away. Plum- mer figured he had to slaughter Giles first, then butcher you. Well, there won’t be any trouble with the author- ities, and with all bets off, Giles, you got nothing to worry about.” A long moaning wail came out of Jake. “Stand up, Jake,” Keating support- ed him. “Jake, you have to be able to take it. After all the work you put into Plummer, there he is, cold meat, dead.” Jake waved. “So, again I’m start- ing. Like babies these fighters are, nice when you get them, but grow- ing up....’ Jake glanced at Plum- mer’s body: “Phooie!” COMMiICLoooks (C@