The San Francisco call., 1904-03-20
aMATTEsR!}al,.OF :! % HIS MIRS e 2

strstcher. Besides. see all the trouble
he's givin' u.s. He'll queer the whole
of US if we don't get him.
That's right" commented Billy.
No one bloke's got any business
queerin' the push; IL he has got to
take stretcher then he has. an that's
all there is about it. Well, tell you
Ruderick. I'll screw my nut down.
town an rubber around, lettin' the
blokes know what's doin'. You'll put
the people up here next, will you?
Alright. Where'll we repOrt?"
up in my rooms"
The two men separated and began
putting the blOkes next" RudericlS
dropped into saloon after saloon. talk
ing quietly with men sitting at tables
or standing at the bar. and pretty soon
these men were to be seen coming out
on the street and taking different di-
rections- he talked to them in a
language unique for its abbFeviations
and directness- There were no long
explanations. The simple statement.
backed up by Ruderick's presence. that
The Front Office wanted TO know
who made that touch in Jersey. and
wanted the swag and gun, sUfficed to
set going an unequaled detective
agency.
There were no silly trips to Jersey
to inspect the scene OF the crime"
no long Interviews with reporters about
suggested clews, and no keeping the
wires hot" Guns" OF all ages and
conditions strolled quietly up and down
Manhattan, ''rubbering." passing the
time Of day and putting people next"
One would enter a Joint" give a
cough and pass On 70 a rear room
where he was joined by those whom
his cough had attracted. Find out
who got that thimble an the roll on
the trolley over in Jersey-the chief is
hostile an wants to know-ROderick
MckiOwd is on the case" and another
half dozen recruits were enlisted for the
honor OF the chief
Gossip about touches" is as essen
tial to the Under World as is gossip
about marriages and births to the Up
per World. Burke Ryan could no more
forego the pleasure of telling his pals
about the touch" on the trolley in Jer-
sey than he could resist the temptation
to pull il Off" He had hooked the
watch and invested the greater part OF
the roll in a quiet little game Of poker
by the time Ruderick McKlOwd and the
push were on his trail. and he had also
published widely the details of the
theft. only Ruderick and his compan-
ions had not yet reached the Joints
where the story had been told. At the
very moment that Ruderick and Billy
the Bruiser were agreeing on the cam
paign 20 find him, Burke was in sa-
loon not more than ten blocks distant
telling some cronies how he had to
clear the deck" on the trolley with hts
razor to make good his "moOch," and
giving them amusing accounts OF how
the "Molls dove out o. the windows" in
their haste to give him room.
Burke had his friends in the push as
well as did Ruderick, and there was
one, Jimmy Ryerson by name. who felI
that il was up to him to let Burke
know that Ruderick and his push were
in pursuit
DO they jus want the dough an the
watch" asked Burke. "or are they
after me. too?"
They're after you, you duffer" said
Jimmy, "an' they'll have you if you
don't mocoh. You've been chewin the
rag all over town, an somebody's told
EN- by this time"
DO you mean to say that they're
goin' TO turn me over to the chief?"
That's what they are, an you'll
be settled. too. His -Nibs is on his ear,
they say, an the chiefs got to square
things
We'll, they can go plump to hell.
amt no sucker to help out that
chief-let him help hisself out. I'm
goin' to mOOch right'-his speech
was cut short by the entrance into the
saloon of Ruderick and two pals
1t was a chase which is talked
about still when chases come up for
discussion. 1t began below Twenty
third street and ended in a vacant lot
near the Eighth-avenue Railroad
terminal, and is probably the only pur-
suit of a criminal in whose arrest
criminals alone were interested Troll
ley cars, cabs and the elevated" were
all used by both the pursued and the
pursuers, and a fierce struggle ended
the fight. As last resort Burke took
his stand IN a fence corner of a vacant
lot, drew his razor. and dared ROderick
and his two companions to touch him.
It's a case o. Knockout" said Roder-
lex and poor Burke was made the tar
get for stones swiftly thrown and care
fully aimed. He stood it as long as he
could his face and hands being cut and
bruised and smeared all over with
blood. and then cried out: I caye-I
cave!"
Couldn't help it. Burke. old man."
said Roderick soothingly. Three to
one amt fair. but it's business The
chief needs you, an we need the chief
see?"