Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 12, 1927 — page 63: what you’re looking at

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

QUEEN OF CLUBS. Aside from his daily lesson, his time was his own. He was provided with a room and meals at the Mackinac Hotel, but no money. The fifty dollars that Breedon gave him the first day melted away like ice in the sun. Well, he had to buy him- self a tortoise shell cigarette case, a lighter, an ivory-headed stick and other things that went with his new character. For a few days it was grand to fluff about in good clothes with nothing to worry about, and then it began to pall on him. Len had considerable steam to let off, and day by day the pressure rose. He began to lay on weight, a thing he hated in him- self. My figure is my fortune, he said grimly to himself as he looked in the glass. Moreover, it was galling to a young man of spirit never to be able to buy. Might as well be somebody’s tame sheep! he grum- bled. He made the mistake of speaking to Marcus Breedon about it. ‘“ Say, boss, I’m flat broke. If you could only let me have the money it costs to keep me in this joint, I could live cheaper outside, and have a little coin to spend.” ‘“‘ What have I got to do with it?” asked Breedon with a hard look. ‘“ You’re work- in’ for Chablon.” M. Chablon when appealed to, spread out his hands and _ shrugged _ expressively. ‘When you start work, your pay starts,” he said. ‘“ What’s the matter with you? Miss Sanders says you will make a good dancer soon.” “ All right if I don’t go nutty first,” mut- tered Len. He was now recognized as a member of Breedon’s crowd, and as such had plenty of company around the hotel. Queer fish! I thought I knew life, Len said to him- self, but I’m only a beginner! Men of all ages and every complexion, nearly every nationality in Europe was_ represented among them. They were alike in one thing only, and that was the superior quality of the smoothness they exhibited. They had a certain common meeting ground of talk in which they exercised themselves fluently, beyond that, mum! Queer half hints would be dropped; but no man ever asked another a question. All 537 private communications were saved for the old man’s ear. These men turned up at the hotel in endless succession, hung about for a day or two, and dropped out of sight as mysteriously as they had appeared. Others were regular habitués of the lobby. Good- God! What a team Breedon drives, thought Len. Is there no end to it? By degrees he became pals with a little fellow named Charley Marden, who, like himself, lived in the hotel. They were the same age. Charley was a slick, thin little fellow, who could pass for a high school kid when necessary. It was very useful to him. Now Breedon was generally away from the hotel at night, and the place was dead. Neither Charley nor Len had any money to spend and they got into the way of passing the time at night by smoking and chinning in each other’s rooms. Very cagey with each other at first, they gradually be- came confidential. It turned out that Char- ley had turned a couple of tricks in his time, just the same as Len. Finally one night with justifiable pride, Charley de- scribed how he had robbed a bank in the West. “God!” said Len. “I wish I had some- thing on right now. I’m dying of dry rot, kid.” ‘The old man ‘ll take care of you,” said Charley soothingly. “ That’s all right,” said Len, “ if I don’t go bugs first. I can’t stand this life. I got to have action.” ‘“That’s funny, now,” said Charley thoughtfully. “It just happens now that I got an elegant tip a couple of days ago. I can’t use it myself. It seems a kind of a shame it should go to waste.” “What is it?” asked Len eagerly. ‘Say, if you’re workin’ for the old man, you want to keep off it, too, fellow.” “Ah! I ain’t workin’ for Breedon,” said Len. ‘“ Anyhow, he says I ain’t.” ‘Well, it’s like this,” said Charley, “ fella I know, a good friend of mine, made a bunch of money last week out of a shipment of hootch, and he put a part of it into a pair of elegant diamond earrings for the wife. Regular searchlights, they are; set him back a cool three thousand bones. Gomicbooks (E@)