Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 13, 1920 — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

THE CRIMP. friends were taken by a roundabout route to Meigg’s wharf. Hansen did not need to handcuff them. Captain Gully, on watch, held up three fingers when Abie was rowed from the dingey whaler. The crimp had half filled the contract. “JT dank it will be easy to get the others,” said the mate, whose slow brain had finally grasped Abie’s big idea. “We should have no trouble at all,” Abie answered. He relaxed into silence and was rowed ashore. Rain fell athwart the city. A mist rest- ed on top of Knob Hill. Abie, hidden be- neath the slouch hat and raincoat, entered several opium dens in hopes of catching some one napping. He was recognized in one of these. This would not do. He was supposed to be Keenon, a detective. “We'll try for a big haul,’ he told the faithful mate. ‘ We’ll break in where men are making money.” The method pursued by the crimp to find the location of the coiners he had in mind was an involved detour which took all of an hour of precious time. Mother Kelly, on duty as barmaid at the Blubber Room, supplied the necessary information. The Yetsky Wop, who had fortunately tried to pass a smooth two-bit piece on Abie’s mother the day before, had never met Abie. His address was on Low- er Mission Street, between a Chinese laun- dry and a ship’s outfitter. ‘The crimp acted energetically. He dragged the mate out from a crowd that surrounded a soap-box preacher at Mission and East Street. He crossed the sidewalk, loosened his revolver, and started mount- ing flights of stairs which were steep as the shrouds to a topmast. | The Yetsky Wop, a meek-eyed Italian and his assistant coiner, had a crucible on a stove and three plaster-of-Paris molds ready for filling. Both raised their arms when Abie, backed by the mate, came around by a fire-escape. The crimp took no chances with the coiners. Yetsky’s brother was known in the city as Angel Face. He was credited with five murders. Hansen securely handcuffed the prison- 300 ers. He waited while Abie searched the room. A plating outfit, a box of copper and zinc, and a double handful of smooth quarters were hidden beneath the floor. “T’m Keenon of the Secret Service!”’ said Abie. ‘‘ My man will take you out to the revenue cutter. You go to the Federal prison.” Yetsky and his brother had feared De- tective Keenon for over four years. They were plastic as their own plaster-of-Paris in the mate’s hands. They jumped to his proposal of letting them get away on a whaler. Had not they been caught red- handed? It was bad enough to have queer money in one’s possession, but double worse to have both the money and the molds. The sentence given by the Fed- eral courts on similar charges had been five years for each offense. Abie waited at the shore end of Meigg’s wharf for the mate to return from the whaler Bowhead. He had done remark- ably well in the matter of getting Captain Gully a crew. There remained one more man to secure. The crimp had his pride. He had promised six. The rain was a dampener to his hopes of getting this man. It would be useless to send out anybody except one who feared the law more than a whaling voyage. Yetsky, Angel Face, Hong Kee and the two coolies would sign any paper at mid- night. They did not need to be urged to leave San Francisco. ‘““Having put the fear of Keenon into their hearts,” Abie told Hansen, when the mate came ashore, “ we'll proceed to find the last man. What did Captain Gully “I dank he say nothin’. He is sitting on the booby-hatch holding down the crew.” * Abie led the mate toward Mission Street. The two men paused a moment in the shel- ter of an awning. The soap-box preacher had guided his flock of derelicts into the Beacon Room. _ The Beacon Room was a long saloon made over into a mission hall. The win- dows were silvered with Rochelle salts. A tramp stood at the entrance. He shivered in the rain, opened the door, and went in- (E{0) = comicbooks