Omaha daily bee., 1921-05-01
APPLE SA UCE :: :: Bu JACK LAIT
A erintheH eHartA Afasa Of Milwaukee, Busy,P
A Chapter in the Heart Affairs OF

nand was asked by what arithmeticai
process four apples could be divided
among five people, he answered,
Make apple sauce
That bewhiskered gag" has been
adopted by actors, gamblers and
thieves--and let US hope that only in
their adoption Of this have they any
thing in common.
Among crooks apple sauce"
means pooling of loot and divi-
sion OF the proceeds, and the one
chosen to dispose of the stock and
to distribute dividends on the net
takings, transmitted into specie, is
''the cook"
1t so chanced that band Of pick
pockets having worked" a mass
meeting assembled to ascertain ways
and means to curb. crime in the COM
munity, came by their various routes
unto the business Office of the dip"
corporation, the home of "Thumby"
Hassom, and divulged from their
own pockets the watches, stickpins,
lavallieres and miscellaneous GIN.
cracks they had acquired with finger.
and nippers at the law and order
rally.
Present, in addition to Thumby,
were "Riot Call' Smathers, "Alibi"
Bates, "Midge" Wann, "Oilcan"
Randlc. and milwaukee May" Bus
by. May was the darling of the lot,
as nifty with her dimples as she was
with her digits, slender as she was
slick, winsome as she was wicked,
elusive as she was acquisitive. Not
gun" in the lot whose fingers did
not itch to pilfer from her heart the
treasure of love so safely hidden
there-hiddcn, as far as any of them
knew, always.
Milwaukee May, teamed with
Bates (good pickpockets always work
in pairs, and often in larger COM
panies for most efficient results), had
held up her end. She turned in a
mans share Of the plunder and she
was to receive mans share of the
turnover. She could have had any
mans share in that room besides her
own. too.
Wann. called "Midge" because Of
his pint size proportions. was the
cook" of the outfit" He looked
innocent and virtuous. Although he
dealt largely with professional
fences" still these points were as
sets, for it was he to whom the
stuff" coud be most directly traced.
and if showdown in court should
be forced unlikely hut possible,
Wann could make the cleanest show
ing Of the lot on form and record.
He had never been convicted. a dis
tinetion he shared only with May in
that gang. :
Thumby, as the acknowledged
leader, inventoried the gross receipts,
which piled up glittering and prom ,
ising heap on his dining table ,
ut we can't drag down a couple
o grand $4,000 for this mess o
junk, the price of stones an metal
has Topped" he announced. {
"A couple O grand?" echoed Ran ,
dali, the "Oilcan," so-called because ,
he was stingy. not because he was /
smooth. Say. the lead in that bum ,
fob the Riot Call hauled in is worth ,
II bucks a pound alone" {
Smathers blew cigaret smoke atsthe
Oilcan in contemptuous retort-well
he knew why Randall was riding
him. May had said Hello" some ;
what more heartily to the Oilcan ,
than she had to the Riot Call that ,
evening, and the finest shades of her
voice, eyes, and general approach |
were weighed and essaved in that
mob" 7
Don't scrap, boys" said May. And ;
they turned their backs on one an j
other at her command.
Nudge had car. He was heche- ,
lor with no bad habits. He followed I
his profession industriously and had {
laid up a comfortable nest egg against
sickness, a "fall' (arrest), accident, {
matrimony. or other disaster. The !
loot was crammed into suitcase and /
he put on his gloves and started for /
the door, walking backward andlook' ]
ing significantly at May. She gave :
him no tumble" t
"Can I drive you home-drop you {
off, May" he ventured I
"Sure." said she. +
And, while. the others glowered, I
she accompanied Midge out and {
down and seated herself beside him {
in the roadster, with the precious {
suitcase between them. The way LED :
through park, and it was now well :
past midnight.
"Mav," said Midge, as they
whirred along. GIVE taken you home :
like this before"
"You bet you have" said she;
YOU'RE a good kid and like you"
"I. that all?" he asked, pleadingly. y
"You only like me?" ..
20, I like you whole lot"
"You couldn't stretch that whole
lot O liking into a little love. could
you. May?"
"I'll be on the level with you,
Midge-no, I couldn't. Pm for you
and you're a pal. But | got some
weird ideas about this love racket.
I want to hook up with some square
shooter some day and marry and
kick ali this behind me to stay.
"May," she he, IF that's all thats Ii
eatin' you, I'll chuck the grift right
now .and 60 straight as rummy-
for you" ., =
"No, Midge. You only think SO. .
This is pretty soft dough. Your bit l.
out of tonight ought to run around
three. four hundred dollars. You
couldn't make that in any honest
game-nobody could except !.
plumber or grocer.
"But IN take 1ess--for you. ] got y
a few berries salted. l can 90 INTO y
business-I can open up garage.
"eo 1,L.-. ,,o,, oo 7 told you a