Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

ned to Connors. by sixty,” replied Connors. ~ How would a room thirty by sixty do?” questioned the captain through the receiver. Yes—you can get that,” he added. +8 he finished speaking, Connors noted __~T shall defer my examination of your Place. Connors, for the present. A personal _ friend of mine uptown—a young clergyman _ —wants to come down in my precinct to- night, and hold a mission service. That was him on the wire. I want you to let him have the Cracker Pot. Does it go>” At any other time Connors would have ____ Stood aghast at such a proposition, but now : it loomed up in front of him as a miracle. | This would give him time to think; time to locate Captain Jake and disentangle him- self from an unsavory alliance. Certainly | the captain's friend could have the dance __ball—why, Captain Wallers had almost asked it as a personal favor. There was no doubt in Connors’s mind as to what kind | of a man this gospel sharp was. It was quite clear to him. He was a squirrel—a | bit of a religious nut, but never mind. Cap- | tain Wallers had made the request. Great possibilities began to swirl through his mind. What was the loss of one night's receipts to the possible advertising that might follow if Newspaper Row saw good copy in this Cracker Pot meeting. Why not boost it—make it a howling success? _ Steve Brody had to jump off the Brooklyn _ Bridge before the silk hats and top coats began to come down from Fifth Avenue. This would be soft in comparison. Leave it to me. captain,” he replied with dramatic wave of the hand. “ Leave it e. Il make that bunch of dock rats the Cracker Pot get religion if you say le-banger is on the level.” uess they need it.” the captain an- a = xent down the station house cer who had summoned him ~~ ee ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. give me a chance s But if you had made your request without Setting up the scenery he would have re- ~ [ was aware of that, ° said the captain, taking up the telephone for the purpose of notifying his friends that they might avail themselves of the use of the Cracker Pot for the proposed meeting. As Connors walked back to his establish- ment confidence returned. The mental jam began to break up. Captain Wallers did not know of Jake's mysterious use of the dance hall cellar—that was the first big stick to slide into placid waters and, so far as Connors was concerned, it was the key log. Entering the dance hall he saw that the flow of spirits, both animal and distilled, had become normal under the inspiration of Eddie Carbon's music—some of his own Steam-drill compositions. A few moments later both the negro and Emile went into secret conference with Con- nors and were evidently satisfied with the latter’s report and the declaration that so far as his trip to the station house was con- cerned ‘ there was nothing to it.” Then he made his way to the platform. “ Frien's,” he began, “ you got to hand it to Chink-nail Connors for keeping every - body happy. You know—just like one big family. And now you is all going to do me @ personal favor, and maybe I’m going to put your picters in the papers. There's a frien’ of mine uptown that’s the barker for a nice, respectable congregation, and he says to me, ‘ Connors, I hears a whole lot about your place, and some night I want to come down and put the gospel syringe right into the hearts of them frien’s of yours." -* Certainly.’ I says to him. So he's com- ing down to-night—see? And we all got to be nice and polite. You know how it is— some of you ought to get kind of sore about your past life. Of course, I ain't go- ing to ask no one to do any thing that's against his self-respect, or nothing like that. but I got to do something that will be classy —for my frien’. So I’m going to ask Joie to try and bust up the meetin—that ll : to run Joie out, and be ‘ as oe comicbooks.com