All Story Magazine, December 1913 — page 118: what you’re looking at

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

828 “Schmidt hasn’t had the saloon long,” he added dryly. “ About two years. He got it when [ took the house, or I took the house when he got the saloon, whichever you prefer.” “You mean the place is yours? ” “No. But I found it convenient to help put Schmidt into it, and his grati- tude allows us to use his back door. “ By the way, I'm afraid Parks is going to bother you. He is coming to interview Alice in a few minutes — telephoned quite nicely less than half an hour ago, and I’m sure he would not trouble her this early if he had not learned something worth while. ‘There is only one link missing in his chain, and 1 think he is coming here to frighten Alice into forging it. “Tf she won't, he'll try to use Mar- garet and you. You see, I'm afraid he has learned, or will learn very soon, that Miss MacGregor and Miss Van Huysen are the same person. ‘The cul- prit is our friend Beans.” “What?” Campbell nodded his head slowly, and his mouth tightened. “Yes. Remarkable, isn’t it? He is as blind as a bat to his own interests. His type usually are when they imag- ine they are being ill-treated, and where he leads there -are fifty of the smaller fry who will follow, believing their necks are in danger. * Crabbe and Paler and most of their crews have already left the city. The Clachan was closed by the police this morning. Andy, the bartender, is be- ing held on suspicion. The rest, like rats, are leaving the sinking ship, for which I don’t blame them in the least. In a case of this sort it is every man for himself ‘an’ the de’il tak’ the hin’- most.’ But to get back to Lieutenant Beans. ‘Unfortunately, he met Alice, the nurse, and the baby and I as we were leaving the Cathedral Parkway apart- ‘ment last night. That was after we left you. He was clever enough to suspect that I might be likely to do something of the sort, or perhaps THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE. Della whispered the suspicion to him. In any case, he raised a deuce of a row because I insisted that the Gob- bler would be cared for by Rollins’s people. “That shooting, Didderington, can- celed everything—everything! ” He rose impatiently, his face cloud- ine with a shadow of the anger he had felt when his plan for Rollins’s safety had miscarried. “T won't raise a finger or a dollar to save Borrowman, and I won't be threatened into doing so. No man can kill on my door-step and get me to help him escape the penalty. beans knows that. I told him so last night, and had to knock him down to pre- vent that revolver of his from doing any harm. “There is only one way out of this. You must forge Parks’s last link. You will avoid all sorts of trouble if you tell Parks what he wants to know; not only trouble for yourself, but every one else —the girls particularly. Of course, you could perjure yourself and lie a blue streak, but with your respon- sibilities you can't afford to take a chance of being caught at that. "edice can take cate of _ Herself. Seton ‘Tait will look after Della, be- cause her life is only beginning; and I think, apart from what she did for me last night, she ought to have a chance. The others—well, I .shall at- tend to them. “ But I can’t do a thing for you to get you and Margaret cleanly out of this mess. JI dragged you into it, but you must get yourself out—and take the Gobbler with vou.” He looked sharply, at me from under lowering eyebrows. while I sat aghast, incapable of solving either his argu- ment or his indifference to the coming of Parks. “You will sail next Wednesday after the funeral— and the Gobbler and his nurse shall sail with you. ‘The nurse is an old member of the family —took care of Margaret when she was a kiddie, so she’s harmless. But to be comliclooolks.com