Adventure Magazine Cover — page 159: what you’re looking at

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

Direct Methods It did not take the general long to read the enclosure.. It was signed by a very great and powerful government official, and left ‘no doubt as to Mr. Graves’ position. The general reread the last sentence. “and is hereby empowered to use any methods he sees fit to accomplish his mis- sion, which is one of the gravest impor- tance to the welfare of the United States.” ‘‘So-o-o0,” said the general at length, lay- ing down the document slowly. ‘And what is it you wish, Mr. Graves?” “First let me find out whether I am cor- rect on all points or not. You have gathered here, as I understand it, the veteran pilots of the Air Service to take part in the coming bombing tests. You likewise have con- centrated here for the use of the Air Brigade the most up-to-date material the Air Service has.” “Correct. Right here, Mr. Graves, is probably the best organization of its size the Air Service of any country has ever known. With those Martin bombers out there, manned by the pilots of this brigade, we are ready this minute to back up all our claims, and you know we made some!”’ O’Malley joined in Graves’ spontaneous laugh over that last forceful statement. The general’s adventures in trying to put across some of the things he wished to do in the Air Service had been diversified, to say the least. He was a firebrand whom every one simply had to like or dislike—there was no middle ground. The flyers of his service idolized him. Flyers, being on the whole of a type a little different from the general run, it follows that many good men would dislike and dis- trust O’Malley for the same things which his young men loved. “Well, general, here is my mission in a nutshell. You know by the papers, if through no other means, of the series of tremendous mail robberies, totaling millions, which culminated in the half-million dollar haul near Cleveland two months ago.”’ O’ Malley nodded. “Operatives of our service, after months of patient and very skilful work, have run down what we believe to be the greatest criminal organization of its kind the country ever saw. It is almost a certainty that every mail robbery of any size since 1919, has been engineered and carried to a successful completion by this organization. “The group is so powerful and so wise 153 that its ramifications are almost unbe- lievable. We don’t know all about them yet, but we do know that its organization includes agents all over the country for the safe disposal of securities and other valu- ables; that it includes brokers, business men, cracksmen, gunmen, government employees. The brains of the gang, the man to whom all credit for the conception and execution of these tremendous crimes and the organi- zation of the whole thing goes is Stanislaus Hayden. “IT won’t bore you with his history—suf- fice it to say that he is one of the most re- markable combinations of brilliancy, far- sightedness, and executive ability that I have ever known about. If he were anything but a mentally and morally warped speci- men, he might have been another Morgan or Stinnes. “‘Now here is the situation. Hayden is at present in West Virginia. He is living on the top of a mountain in Farran County, miles from the nearest town. With him are several underlings—I believe them to be some of the men who actually pull the robberies themselves. Just why they are living in seclusion up there I do not exactly know, but I presume that it is first of all a good hiding place, and secondly that it keeps Hayden away from the surveillance of the police. He has been mixed up in some monumental deals—or at least suspected so strongly that he is watched—but for two years he has fooled us completely on this new organization of his. What makes him unusually dangerous aside from his © ability is the loyalty he inspires in those under him—rather a combination of loyalty and fear, [should say. Anyway, a few small potatoes whom we have nabbed quietly will tell nothing. Apparently they realize that he is a really great commander-in-chief, and trust him to help them.” “But how did he——” “How he got into West Virginia I do not know. A year ago he dropped from sight, and the operative who finally traced him down has no idea when he came into that part of the country. I believe that the gang planned to quit operations before long, and that for months Hayden has been a hermit simply making his pile with the idea of retiring on his money in the near future. He would not be safe in any city in the country to carry on his operations.”’ Graves talked as precisely as ever. Every COMmMiCOooks (C@