Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

202 booth. A thin, dark foreign-looking man scrutinized him carefully but he did not notice him. The dark man stepped to the telephone operator as Harry hastened away. “Was that Mr. Hilwin?” he asked. * Yes, sir.” “Thank you.” Now to go back a little. We left the rat- faced young man being escorted out of the hotel by the house detectives, the night be- fore. That individual hastened to a doctor of his acquaintance and discovered that a small bone was broken in his hand. It was neatly bandaged by the physician and he went on his way. “How did you get the busted wing, Moriaty?” the doctor had demanded. “ Kicked by a mule,” he had replied, and mumbled to himself. ‘ And that’s no lie.” Mr. Moriaty did a little thinking during the remainder of the night and decided that the prize was worth calling in more com- petent workers than he had proved to be himself. So next morning he rang the bell in a certain house in the Fifties and was admitted to the presence of a heavy set man who looked like a former saloon proprietor, which is exactly what he was—among other things. 7 “ Hello, Moriaty,” the big man greeted him. “ What’s on your mind this fine day?” “Tf I put you next to something worth $200,000 in cash, what will my share be?” “Depends on who has to do the work. If it’s easy you get a third. [If it’s very hard you don’t get so much.” “ Well, I can’t swing it alone, so I'll have to take what you give me.” “That’s a wise kid. Now spring your story.” “In the first place have you heard of any big haul being made lately of between $150,000 and $200,000 worth of nice new greenbacks?”’ ‘Not around here. Wait till I call head- quarters and find out what they know down there. Hand me that ’phone, will ye?” _“ Hello, police headquarters? Give me Detective Sergeant Leatrice.”” A moment’s pause. ‘That you, Phil. Bull Hansen talking. Private and confidential. I want - ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, Ba to know who’s got away from anywhere with anything up to a quarter of a million. Never mind the small stuff. What do I want to know for? You get me the dope I’m looking for and there may be something doing for you. Call me back.” He hung up and folded his big flabby white hands across his stomach regarding Moriaty keenly out of red-rimmed eyes. ‘Bout a week ago I was on a North River ferry early in the morning when a feller jumped overboard.” “‘ Heard about that. Body not recovered, Nothing known about him.” “* Just before he went over the rail he said. something to a man named Hilwin who was standing alongside of him. I heard them talking but didn’t pay any attention. When the crowd rushed to the rail to watch the search for the body I got busy and landed a few wallets and a watch. Nothing much in them. As I was slipping off the ferryboat on the New York side this fel- low Hilwin passed me carrying a bag. Now it happened I had noticed him getting on the boat, because he is one of that kind of guys you pay attention to somehow, and he didn’t have a bag. I didn’t think any- thing about it because I saw a bull eying me pretty hard, and with the stuff in my clothes, I had to make a quick getaway. ‘This fellow Hilwin looked to me like a regular Jersey commuter, probably haul- ing down twenty or thirty a week in one of the big buildings. I didn’t think any more about him till last night when I slid into the Mastodon, and who was sitting alongside of me but him, dressed up in a suit of evening clothes. “TI get talking to him sort of casual, and all at once it flashes over me that the bag he carried off the ferry must have belonged to the suicide and there might have been something worth while in it. “So I says: ‘ What was in the bag?’ ”. “He almost fell out of his chair and by the way he tried to cover up I knew I’d struck something live. “He admitted, though, he pinched the suicide’s bag, and said there was nothing in it but some dirty clothes. But here he . was living at the Mastodon, spending right and left, and where did hecset iter. aay