Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-01

on guard objects Topper.
oh, him. says Old Hickory.
"Torchy will attend to him. Here. son.
see what you can do with this and he
slips me a five spot.
,Yes, SIR says l, slidin' out through
the taxi door and skippin' up the
cluttered brownstone steps where this
old Sim Feiners with the walrus lip
whiskers was swingin' his night stick
and tryin' to look important.
Hello, Cap" says !. KNOW whose
house this used to be-"
Better than. amy young wisps like
YOU" says he.
big Dams, wasn't it?" says I.
True for yez.p says he. But you
wasn't yet in the cradle when he was
here. while / was on the force. 1t was
him got me the job an finer man,
barrin' wan or two, never breathed.
"I'll bet you're Judge. too" says l.
That's as may be-" says he. What
them"
'tSee the old boys in the taxi?" goes
on. "Chums of Big Dams. They've
taken a notion they'd like to look
through the old house once more"
ITS against ORDERS says he, but
maybe l could show 'em around"
81 have an idea they'll want to do
some private reminiscin' by themselves
says l. "Oh, they amt the kind to be
collectin' lead pipe and brass faucets for
pass"
'Tt's as good as if it was signed by
Big Dan himself" says old Walrus
Whisker. tuckin' the five away. '1ll be
busy in the basement. sir.
Then l skips back to the cab and re-
ports. Hes blind in both eyes" says
l. land the ruins are open for inspec-
ton. Shall stay here"
mo, come with u.s." says Old Hickory.
"And see that you bring those sharp
wits of yours with you. l may need
them"
Course. thinks that's just josh he's
handin' me. but l trails along while him
and A. Gordon Upper picks their way
up the front steps. Upper wasn't en-
thusiastic at first. but he gradually gets
interested.
by George" says he, steppin' into
out, Ell? Doesn't look much as it did
when l saw it last. They haven't taken
out the marble mantlepiece yet. Isn't
that beauty, of its kind? And notice
that inlaid paneling on the walls and
those carved door castings. Big Dan
didn't spare any expense when he built
this"
Hardly needed to- puts in Old Hick-
ory Municipal graft was at flood tide
in those days, and the main channel
flowed through here. We contributed
our share, you remember
to do any business" says he. But he
overreached himself at the last Got
away clean. however"
"At least" says Old Hickory, "he got
away. Now let's go UP to the library"
',Oh, I've seen enough" protests Tup-
per Makes me feel like a patriarch. !"
bah" snorts Old Hickory. Don't
pretend you're sentimental. Come along
You're two years younger than ], but
I'll show you that my mind is better
than yours
Go ahead then" says Upper.
At the top of the second long flight
though, they was both putin like freight
engines maxim grade, and when
they'd finished the third they was
plumb winded
"Who-o-o-o!" explodes Old Hickory.
81 don't blame Big Dan for spending
arrived. Quite room, Ell? And the
wreckers haven't done much to it yet.
See, that's where the old safe used to
be. That's gone. But the rows Of old
book cases are still in place. Black
'em filled with law books. Thought they
looked we'll, l suppose. But mighty lit
tie he cared for any laws. In the rear
| think he had private suite. Yes,
bedroom and bath. No fire escape.
couldn't imagine Big Dan trusting his
$50 pounds to rope ladder. could your"
After Upper has leaned out and
glanced down at the tagged courtyard,
three and half stories below, he ad-
mits he couldn't.
"And as there's no skylight," goes on
Old Hickory. "he couldn't have escaped
by way of the roof. Then how did he
get away, Tupper?"
"Oh. I'm no Sherlock Holiness" pro-
tests Upper. TASK some one else
Every WE'LL" says Old Hickory,
springin' that twisty smile of his, II
will. Torchy, you tell u.s.
"Eh?" says l. gawpin'.
you've heard nearly all the story"
says he.~"Qne-M azch-night-twentY-fv five