Evening star., 1921-10-25
Continued from Yesterdays Starr

The other came quickly forward now
with outstretched hand. -
"Any friend of Badly Vickers is a
friend of mine," he said heartily. you
want to See mech? Well. come along
Gull. where we can talk"
| He led the way little further down
the passage, and into another room'
and closed the door. The furnishings
here were meager, and evidently re-
stricted entirely to the votaries of
poppy. There was a couch. and be-
side it a small tabouret for the opium
smokers paraphernalia.
! The Scorpion pointed to the couch; !;
and possessed himself Of the tabouret,
which he straddled.
'Sit down." he invited. Have a
drink?'
anything tonight" He srinned sig,
| The Scorpion nodded.
"Sure-ali right" he agreed. "We1,
well get to cases. then. Baldy says
lin his letter that you and him are
Ia card or two slipped you to fill your
hand. What's the lay. and what can
.! I do for you:"
! 1T $ a bl. OF long story" Bookie
iSkarvan removed the cigar butt from
!his lips. eyed it contemplatively for a
/
!another cigar from his pocket, and.
without lighting it, settled it firmly
ibetween his back teeth. 81 got to be
fair with you he Said. "Baldy said
i he handed it to you straight in the
letter. but, l got to make sure. you
understand. We think we got a good
thing. and. if it is, anything you do
amt going for nothing; but there's
always the chance that it's bubble,
and that there's hole gets kicked
in it,
| there's anything coming I'll get mine
and I'm satisfied with any division
that Badly puts across. Baldy and
me know each other pretty well. You
can forget all that end of it-Baldys s
the whitest boy l ever met. and what
| Badly says goes with me all the way.
Go ahead with the story-spll it,
1.-THE details don't count with you,"
said Bookie Skarvan slowly. land
there's no use cumming up the time
with them. The bet is that a nice.
sweet, little Italian girl, that's just
piked Eastern hell across the con-
| ltinent, knows where there's hundred
| thousand dollars in cold cash. that
| was pinched and hidden fiveS ears ago
| by fellow named Dave Henderson,
see? Dave served his spaces, and got.
out few days ago-and croaked.
got blown up With a Dago bomb-get
me? He didn't have no time to enjoy
his wealth-kind of tough, eh? Well
he stood in with this Italian girls
father. an old crook named Nicolo
Capriarro. and he went there the night
he got out of prison. The way we
gotit doped out is that the old Italian.
after getting next to where the money
was. bumped off Dave Henderson him
self-see? Then Nicolo dies of heart
disease. AND the girl hardly waits to
bury the old man decently, and beats
1t for here-mc trailing her on the
same train. Well..1 guess that's all
you can figure for yourself why we're
interested in the girl"
Il get you." said the Scorpion. with
a sinister grin. "It don't look very
hard bucking up against a lone
female, and ! guess you can telegraph
Baldy that he don't need to worry.
What do you want-a bunch to pinch
the girl, or a boX-worker to crack the
safe? You can have anything ihat's
on tap-and I guess that amt PASS
ing up many BETS"
Bookfe Skarvan shook his head.
II don't want either-not yet" he
said. "The girl amt got the money
yet. and there amt anything to do
but just watch her and keep her from
getting scared until she either grabs
it. or lets out where it is" He lean
ed forward toward the Scorpion. Dye
know a place. not far from here, that's
called the Iron Tavern?' he demanded
abruptly. ..
The Scorpion shrugged his shoul-
ders.
Everybody knows it,. he said eau
stically. ITS a dump! It's the
rendezvous of the worst outfit of
blackhanders in America; and the guy
George, runs the gang. too-and he's
some guy. But what's that got to do
with it?''
"rhe girls there" said Bookie
Skarvan tersely.
ooh. she is. eh?" There was a new
and sudden interest in the Scorpions
voice.
"She went there from the train with
her grips" Bookie Skarvan's cigar
grew restive in his mouth. well, me.
too, I'm for the same joint. only
don't want to take any chances spill
ing the beans
40" said Bookie skarvan. mo. I
amt afraid Of that. She never got a.
peep at me on the train, and she only
saw mo once before in her life. and
that time. besides II being dark and me
being outside on the front doorstep.
"a lamppost, for all shed know me
again. It was the night her old man
croaked-see? No. I amt afraid of
|her-but couldn't afford to take any
chances Sby blowing in there right
after her. ! wasn't afraid of her. but
I had my fingers crossed on whoever
ran the place, and I guess. after what
you've said. that my hunch was right.
IT. was a queer place for her to go
right OFF the bat the minute she landed
in New York. and she didn't go there
instead of to a decent hotel Just by
Il r1aA at<Vtr
stand in pretty thick-and If she did,
and blew in right on top Of her, the
betting odds were about. one million
dollars to a peanut that I'd be
sucker. I'm sure of 1t now that you
say the fellow who runs 1t is Dago
in the same old line of business that
her father was in. ;What?"
| The Scorpions pale blue eyes scru-
tinized Bookie .Skarvan's face-and
lighted with4a curious benignity.
"You and Baldy mako a pretty good
combination. ! .guess!" he observed
with dry admiration.
Bookie Skarvan INDUCED In his
wheezy chuckle.
we've had a little luck together
once in WHILE" he admitted modest
ly.; well. you get me. don't you?
I've got to get into that Iron Tavern
joint just the same. That's the first
card we play. I figured that mabbe
reputation anyhow, and that you could
fix 1t for me without it looking as
though 1t were anything more than q
friend Of yours, say. who'd got into a
little temporary difficulty with the
police down in Baltimore. say, and
was keeping quiet and retired for a
few days till the worst Of 1t blew over
and that you'd picked out his joint
as the best bet for me-
The Scorpion got up from his seat
ahrunfly