Children of the Whirlwind

  CHAPTER X

  For several days nothing seemed to be happening, though Larry had asense that unknown forces were gathering on distant isothermal linesand bad weather was bearing down upon him. During these days, tryingto ignore that formless trouble, he gave himself with a most rigiddetermination to his new routine--the routine which he counted on tohelp him into the way of great things.

  Every day he saw Maggie; sometimes he was in her company for an hour ormore. He had the natural hunger of a young man to talk to a young woman;and, moreover, it is a severe strain for a man to be living under thesame roof with the girl he loves and not to be on terms of friendshipwith her. But Maggie maintained her aloofness. She spoke only when shewas pressed into it, and her speech was usually no more than a "yes" ora "no," or a flashing phrase of disdain.

  At times Larry had the feeling that, for all her repression, Maggiewould have been glad to be more free with him. And he knew enough ofhuman nature not to be too disheartened by her attitude. Had he beena nonentity to her, she would have ignored him. Her very insults wereproof that he was a positive personality with real significance in herlife. And so he counseled himself to have patience and await a thawingor an awaking. Besides, he kept repeating to himself, there wouldbe small chance of effecting a conversion in this militant youngorthodoxist of cynicism until he had proved the soundness of contraryviews by his own established success.

  And thus the days drifted by. But on the fifth day after his interviewwith Barlow things began to happen. First of all, he noticed in amorning paper that Red Hannigan and Jack Rosenfeldt, members of his oldoutfit and suggested by Old Jimmie as participants in his proposed newenterprise, had just been arrested by Gavegan and Casey on the charge ofalleged connection with the sale of fraudulent mining stock.

  Second, on his return at the end of the afternoon, he saw standingbefore the house a taxicab with a trunk beside the chauffeur. In themusty museum of a room behind the pawnshop he found Hunt and the Duchessand Old Jimmie and Barney; and also Maggie, coming down the stairway,hat and coat on and carrying a suitcase. A sharp pain throbbed throughhim as he recognized the significance of Maggie's hat and coat andbaggage.

  "Maggie--you're going away?" he exclaimed.

  "Yes."

  She had paused at the foot of the stairway, and at sight of him had gonea little pale and wide-eyed. But in an instant she had recovered heraccustomed flair; there came a proud lift to her head, a flash of scorninto her dark eyes.

  "At last I'm leaving this street for good," she said. "I told you thatsome day I was going out into the world and do big things. The time'scome--I'm graduated--I'm going to begin real work. And I'm going tosucceed--you see!"

  "Maggie!" he breathed. Then impulsively he started toward herauthoritatively. "Maggie, I'm not going to let you do anything of thesort!"

  But swiftly Barney had stepped in between them, Old Jimmie just behindhim.

  "Keep out of this!" Barney snapped at Larry, a reddish blaze in hiseyes. "Maggie's going away and you can't stop her. D'you think herfather is going to let her stay down here any longer, where you canspout your preaching at her!--and you all the time a stool and asquealer!"

  "What's that?" cried Larry.

  "I called you a stool!" repeated the malignantly exultant Barney, alertfor any move on the part of the suddenly tensed Larry. "And you area stool! Didn't I see you myself go into Headquarters with Casey andGavegan where you sold yourself to Chief Barlow!"

  "Why, you damned--"

  Even before he spoke Larry launched a furious swing straight from thehip at Barney's twisted face. But Barney had been expecting exactlythat, and was even the quicker. He caught Larry's wrist before it wasfairly started, and thrust a dull-hued automatic into Larry's stomach.

  "Behave; damn you," gritted Barney, "or I'll blow your damned guts out!No--go ahead and try to hit me. I'd like nothing better than to killyou, you rat, and have a good plea of self-defense!"

  Larry let his hands unclench and fall to his sides. "You've got the dropon me, Barney--but you're a liar."

  "You bet I got the drop on you! And not only with my gun. I've got iton you about being a stool. Everybody knows you are a stool. And what'smore, they know you are a squealer!"

  "A squealer!" Larry stiffened again.

  "A stool and a squealer!" Barney fairly hurled at Larry these two mostdespised epithets of his world. "You've done your job swell as a stool,and squealed on Red Hannigan and Jack Rosenfeldt and turned them up forthe police!"

  "You believe I had anything to do with their arrest?" exclaimed Larry.

  Barney laughed in his derision.

  "Of course we believe it," put in Old Jimmie, his seamed, cunning facenow ruthlessly hard. "And what's more, we know it!"

  "And what's still more," Barney taunted, "Maggie believes it, too!"

  Larry turned to Maggie. Her face was now drawn, with staring eyes.

  "Maggie--do you believe it?" he demanded.

  For a moment she neither spoke nor moved. Then slowly she nodded.

  "But, Maggie," he protested, "I didn't do it! Barlow did ask me to bea stool, but I turned him down! Aside from that, I know no more of thisthan you do!"

  "Of course you'd deny it--we were waiting for that," sneered Barney."Jimmie, we've wasted enough time here. Take Maggie's bag and let's bemoving on."

  Old Jimmie picked up Maggie's suitcase, and slipping a hand through herarm led her across the room. She did not even say good-bye to Hunt orthe Duchess, or even glance at them; but went out silently, her drawn,staring look on Larry alone.

  Barney backed after them, his automatic still held in readiness. "I'mletting you down damned easy, Brainard," he said, hate glittering in hiseyes. "But there's some who won't be so nice!"

  With that he closed the door. Until that moment both Hunt and theDuchess had said nothing. Now the Duchess spoke up:

  "I'm glad they've taken Maggie away, Larry. I've seen the way you'vecome to feel about her, and she's not the right sort for you."

  But Larry was still too dazed by the way in which Maggie had walked outof his life to make any response.

  "But there's a lot in what Barney said about there being some whowouldn't be easy on you," continued the Duchess. "That word had beenbrought me before Barney showed up. So I had this ready for you."

  From a slit pocket in her baggy skirt the Duchess drew out a pistol andhanded it to Larry.

  "What's this for?" Larry asked.

  "I was told that word had gone out to the Ginger Buck Gang to get you,"answered the Duchess. "Barney has some secret connection with the GingerBucks. His saying that you were a stool and a squealer is not theonly thing he's got against you; he's jealous of you on account ofeverything--especially Maggie. So you'll need that gun."

  "What's this I've fallen into the middle of?" exclaimed Hunt. "AKentucky feud?"

  "It's very easy to understand when you know the code," Larry explainedgrimly. "Down here when an outfit thinks one of its members has squealedon them, it's their duty to be always on the watch for their chance tofinish him off. I'm to be finished off--that's all."

  "Say, young fellow, the life of a straight crook doesn't seem to begetting much simpler! Why, man, you hardly dare to stir from the house!What are you going to do?"

  "Going to go around my business, always with the pleasant anticipationof a bullet in my back when some fellow thinks it safe for him toshoot."

  The three of them discussed this latest development over their dinner,which they had together up in Hunt's studio. But despite all their talkof his danger, a very real and near danger, Larry's mind was moreupon Maggie who had thus suddenly been wrenched out of his life. Heremembered her excited, boastful talk of their first evening. Her periodof schooling was indeed now over; she was now committed to her rosilyimagined adventure, in which she saw herself as a splendid lady. Andwith Barney Palmer as her guiding influence!...

  Dinner had been finished and Hunt was trying to give Larry such cheeras "Buck up, young fellow--you
know the worst--there's nothing else thatcan happen," when the lie direct was given to his phrases by heavy stepsrunning up the stairway and the opening and closing of the door. Therestood Officer Casey, heaving for breath.

  Instinctively Larry drew his pistol. "Casey! What're you here for?"

  "Get rid of that gat--don't be found with a gun on," ordered Casey. "Andbeat it. You've got less than five minutes to make your get-away."

  "My get-away! What's up?"

  "You haven't come across as the Chief ordered you to, and he's out togive you just what he said he would," Casey said rapidly, his speechbroken by panting. "There's been a stick-up, with assault that may bechanged to attempted manslaughter, and the Chief has three men who swearyou're the guilty party. It's a sure-fire case against you, Larry--andit'll mean five to ten years if you're caught. Gavegan and I got theorder to arrest you. I've beat Gavegan to it so's to tip you off, buthe's only a few minutes behind. Hurry, Larry! Only--only--"

  Casey paused, gasping for his wind.

  "Only what, Casey?"

  "Only alibi me, Larry, by slipping over a haymaker on me like you did onGavegan. So's I can say I tried to get you, but you were too quick andknocked me cold. Quick! Only not too hard--I know how to play possum."

  Larry handed the pistol to Hunt. "Casey, you're a real scout! Thanks!"He grasped Casey's hand, then swiftly relaxed his grip. "Ready?"

  "Fire," said Casey.

  Larry held his open left hand close to Casey's jaw, and drove his rightfist into his palm with a thudding smack. Casey went sprawling to thefloor, and lay there loosely, with mouth agape, in perfect simulation ofa man who has been knocked out.

  Larry turned quickly. "You two will testify that I beat Casey up andthen made my escape?"

  "Sure, I'll testify to anything for the sake of a good old goat likeCasey!" cried Hunt. "But hurry, boy--beat it!"

  The Duchess held out Larry's hat to him, and thrust into his coatpocket a roll of bills which had come from her capacious skirt. "Hurry,Larry--and be careful--for you're all I've got."

  Impulsively Larry stooped and kissed the thin, shriveled lips of hisgrandmother--the first kiss he had ever given her. Then he turned andran down the stairway, Hunt just behind him. He turned out the light inthe back room, and called to Old Isaac to darken the pawnshop proper. Hewas going forth with two forces in arms against him, the police and hispals, and he had no desire to be a shining mark for either or both bystepping through a lighted doorway.

  "Larry, my son, you're all right!" said Hunt, gripping his hand inthe darkness. "Listen, boy: if ever you're trapped and can get to atelephone, call Plaza nine-double-o-one and say 'Benvenuto Cellini.'"

  "All right."

  "Remember, you're to say 'Benvenuto Cellini,' and the telephone is Plazanine-double-o-one. Luck to you!" Again they gripped hands. Then Larryslipped through the darkened doorway into whatever might lie beyond.