Argosy All-Story Weekly — 'The Metal Monster' — page 101: what you’re looking at

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

“ Wha’ t’ell line o’ business d’y’spose? D’juh ever know o’ me doin’ anythin’ else’n what I’m doin’ nowe I wanta ’corporate . to smuggle booze into the Prohibition States of America.. Tha’s wot line.” _ For a moment the lawyer didn’t speak. He couldn’t have spoken. But he was thinking fast. _ “But why incorporate? Aren’t you getting along pretty well the way things are? Corporations are expensive proposi- tions, as a rule.” “Yes’n’ s’mother guy’ll pay th’ freight. Always does,” said Fin decisively. McMann knew that it was seldom that any of Fin Rafferty’s schemes had back-fire _ to them that was liable to prove expensive. Generally, when the wise old smuggler had an idea, it was already financed with some- one else’s money. Generally the govern- ment’s. There might be something in this after all. “ Perhap’s you’re right. Let’s hear more Gope about your corporation.” He leaned back in his chair, interested. He had to be wide awake when trying to keep ahead, or even keep up with the shrewd brain the smuggler had concealed behind those half-closed eyes. “Well,” started Fin slowly, “it’s like this: I’m doin’ th’ work, and drawin’ down th’ profits. Tha’s fair enough, o’ course. But also I’m runnin’ th’ risks. Every time - I hafta throw a cargo overboard, th’ loss comes outa my pocket—mine! Every time I get one o’ your bills, I hafta pay it wit’ my dough. Every time Sal needs fixin’, the money comes out o’ my pile—” Larry interrupted. “Not every time,” he corrected. “Oh, I know I didn’t th’ time th’ revenuers shot ’er up th’ las’ time, but gen- erally speakin’, I pay. Aijin’t that right? Sure it is. Now what I wus figurin’ on was somethin’ like this: “Y'know th’ Big Five wot buys most 0’ th’ stuff I hustle across? Well, get ’em t’ stick in a few thou’ apiece an’ ’corporate. ’"N’en when I gets nabbed, th’ corporation’d be b’hind me.” “ A long way behind, I’m afraid,” opined the attorney. “ Oh, hell’s fire! I ain’t lookin’ f’r none J. BARLEYCORN, INC. 95 o’ them t’ step up an’ take part o’ my sentence er nothin’ like that, Larry. It’s th’ cost I’m figurin’ on. ’Spenses are runnin’ higher an’ higher every day. Why—” and Fin’s eyes opened wide with indignation for just a second, and he pounded the table with a fist—‘ why, it’s costin’ me $10 a day t’ keep a man in th’ revenue office so’s I can be sure they ain’t gettin’ ready to spring no fast stuff on me. ’Course, he’s a good man, an’ wort’ it.” Fin leaned back in his chair and sighed regretfully as he thought of the exorbitant cost of maintaining this spy who gave him almost positive protection. Protection of the kind that made carefully prepared plans of the chief revenue inspector worthless and a waste of time. ‘An’ look where gas’s goin’ to!” con- tinued Fin. “ They say forty cents ‘ll be th’ nex’ stoppin’ place. An’ Sal ain’t no toy boat. Eight cylinders, hundred horse- power. It takes sugar t’ keep ’er runnin’. ** An’ th’ las’ time what d’jah soak me? Five hun’erd cold berries f’r gettin’ me euta hock an’ gettin’ Pete off with’ six mont’s. Tha’s a’ right,” and Fin sat up straight in his chai?, ‘then leaned toward McMann; “ but wherein ’ell’s th’ profits?” McMann didn’t quite see daylight yet, | but began to have a more or less clear con- ception of the general proposition. In the meantime he stalled for time and asked a few more questions. ‘Well, suppose you incorporate. Have- n’t you got to split your profits with your partners—or, we might say, the other stockholders? The risk may be lessened from a financial viewpoint, but so will the profits. There are two sides to the idea, y know.” “Time ‘Il take care o’ that,” decided Fin. “ Firs’ we gotta go an’ see them birds an’ get ’em int’rested an’ get their jack. They’ll leave th’ res’ to us, an’ you’ll leave it t’ me.” . Fin went into details. Together Fin and McMann visited the members of the Big Five. . First there was Peters, who ran a water- front place that still was dressed as a saloon COLL UN S (CO ElOOO