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E T R I E SHAT-
P TUCK shifted
his lean body in
the swivel-chair, cross-
ing one leg over the
other, and then im-
patiently reversing the
process. His face,
which had the dry,
poreless look t at
comes only from
tropic suns, was ex-
pressionless as a mask.
As for the eyes, one
saw them rarely. They
were hidden by the
seldom - lifted ‘curtain
of his lids. So his
nervousness was be-
trayed only by an oc-
casional movement of
A. warm rain turned
to'.diamond points of
light on the window.
T h e points consoli-
“He Couldn't HIVQ Gone Thrll Tllnl bVfnd0“‘," Snld the Delertlve.
All in the Way of Business
By J. C.‘ Kofoed
Club for an extra man,
- and I want you to get
him the job:-"
of dead men tapping
at the window, wet
mer rain. . . .
“Surely,” said Fal-
lon. “I'll get him the
place. Where can I
find him?"
Sliattuck consulted
a notebook. "Belziger
lives with his mother
at 129 Franklin street
-but you need not
look for him there. I
hangs around Fisher's
place. You k n o w
where it is?”
“Everybody in Ben-
ton City knows the
North Beach Rock
,Cod's dive,” “’allyi
dated, and run to . .
silver streaks. Shattuok watched them, miisingly.
In every city there is a dominant personality
that bestrides its narrow confines. Benton City's
colossus was this man in the swivel-chair, tho he
had no apparent standing in officialdoins Qut-
wardly he was merely president of the African
West Coast Navigation Company. Beneath the
surface ran controlling lines from his office to
the ward leaders and lieelers who formed the
backbone of the Benton City “organization.”
If Shattuck's political affiliations were none
too savory neither was the history of his com-
pany. In the old days it ran a fleet of unsea-
worthy, square rigged craft, handled by hard-
tistetl captains and brutal bucko-mates. Tales of
slave and gun-running ran highyof over-insur-
ance and foundered ships, but those tales were
mercifully clouded by the years. Since the old
square riggers had been superceded by fast
steamers, and the company's offices moved from
the ramshackle house on Dock street to three
entire floors in the Hightower Building, those
things were not mentioned.’ ‘
Shattuck tliouglit of ..them as he watched the
preyirig Fingers of the rain tap at his windows.
Fingers of rain? Fingers of dead men, more
likely l-men who had (lied on ships the company
sent to sail the seven seas; men who had been
crushed by its great power; men whom he had
killed with his own hands in those old, wild days
when .he had ‘been mate in deep water ships.
The president of the African VVest Coast Navi-
gation Company was not an imaginative man,
but the silence, and the rain and the thought of
Barton Wike,played hob with his usually un-
shakable nerves. -
VVike was a wealthy man who posed as a "re-
former;” a shrewd, relentless pursuer of evi-
dence. He had secured a‘ sufficient amount con-
cerning Sliattucl"s company, and the latter’s
wholesale violation of the Volstead Act to bring
l
1
tall: with you here . .
. ,, , I
--a‘ a..s........-..,-M......‘.. L. ,.,‘.,,.i >
about a Federal investigation when it was re-
leased. ; . . And that was something that Shat-
tuck’s great power in Benton City could not
halt.
So, merely in the way of business, it was nec-
essary that Barton Wike be obliterated from the
picture.
Sliattuck touched a button on his desk. A
tall, glum-faced man appeared at the door. He
had the smack of the sea in his gait and eyes
and the hang of his hands.
’ “Tell Fallon I want to see him, Solomon,”
said the president, "and when he goes I want to
. about Mr. Wike. . . . ”
His pale eyes rested a moment on the others,
and then were veiled.
“Aye, aye, sir,” said Solomon Handy, and
going‘into the outer oflice, sent in Wally Fallon,
the assistant general manager of the company.
“lVhat are you doing tonight?". asked Shat-
tuck.
IVally grinned.. “I'm going to see your niece."
“Judith won't be home tonight, and besides
I've got something else for you to do. Captain
O‘Byrne was in to see me before (he started for’
Cape Town with the Empress. Asked me to do
him a favor.” Shattuck opened a drawer of his
desk, extracted a photo, and placed it in Wally's
hand. "It depicted a square-jawed young man,
with good-huniored eyes.
“This is Captain O’Byrne’s nephew, Harry
Belziger. O‘Byrne asked me to get the boy a
job, and-Well, it was too trifling a matter for
me to refuse."
“You're going to take him on here?"
"No. There is nothing that he is particularly
suited for. He was a prize tighter, known in
therring as St. Louis Whitey, until he broke his
hands, and was forced to quit. Consequently,
he has no knowledge of any trade, There is an
opening, I hear, at the Whispering Hills Golf
1
. ‘Kg.-
grinned, “everybody
except the police, I
guess. Or do you tell them to keep hands off
the old pirate?” ,
he older man's face hardened; and the cur-
tain-like lids lifted a moment from his eyes.
“Remember your place,” he said harshly. “I
won't be questioned, Fallon. ,Understand that.
I intend to hold this State in the palm of my
hand before long, and whetlier,I crush or coddle
men like the Cod is my own business."
Fallon laughed as he eased his big shoulders
into a raincoat. “I know. Ambition is as much
a passion as love or hate, and you are one of
the iron tibred breed than can carry it to its
ultimate conclusion. You would sacrifice your
ideals, Judith, even yourself, in its achievement.
Well--as you said-it's your affair. I'm on my
way."
“lally went to Fisher's. It was a low-beamed,
dingy barroom, crammed with. sailormen of
every nationality; blue with smoke and profan-
ity. The ruler of the domain was .Fisher-
known for some inscrutable reason as the North
Beach Rock Cod-a red-haired desperado, whose
smuggling feats were epic in Benton City.
The God was casually acquainted with Fallon,
and looked on him with suspicion. e knew
that,lV'ally was Petrie Shattu<:k’s right hand
man (which was all very well), but he was also
aware of the fact that Fallon belonged to the
same clubs as Voshell, the Police Commissioner,
and District-Attorney Rattray, both of whom
were anxious to ptit him out of business. So he
flashed a warning to his henchmen.
:‘I'm looking for St. Louis Whitey Belziger,"
said “lally. "Do you know him, Cod?” >
Fisher made a rumbling noise deep in his
throat. “Wliatif I do? I ain’t passin' out in-
formation to spotters." ' ‘ ,
‘‘Spottersl'’ repeated Fallon impatiently.
“Don‘t be a fool. You know that I am not in
that class. And it wouldn't do you any harm to
He stopped. Fingers ,
with the fragrant sum-v
understand t h a t‘ he '
‘on-
F
-r.l‘.'1'."-t
