Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1922-05-05
The
|Big-Town
Round Up
By
VIM. Mac Leo Raine
q
Illustrations by Irwin Myers
Copyright by William Macleod Raine
Continued from Page Six

~ 90
Ms friend the commissioner. Their
conversation was brief. When the post
master hung up he rang for a steQog-
rainier and dictated a letter of intro
dnction. This he handed to johnnie,
with explicit instructions.
GO to police headquarters, Center
street., and take this note to Capt.
Luke Byrne. He'll see that the matter
is investigated for you. Dc you know
the way to police headquarters
~ reckon l can find 1t. Is it furr'
The man from Arizona looked down
at the high-heeled boots in which his
tortured feet had dumped over the
pavements of the metropolis all morn
Ing.
"rll send you in a taxi" The post
master was thinking that this babe In
the woods of civilization W would
he able to find his way alone.
AS the driver swept the car In and
out among the traffic Of the narrow
streets Johnnie clung to the top Of
the door fearfully. Every moment he
expected a smash. His heart was In
his throat. The hurricane deck of a
bronco had no terrors for him, but this
wild charge through the humming
trenches shook his nerve.
II come mighty nigh askin' you
would you just as lief drive slower"
he said with a grin to the chauffeur as
he descended to the safety of me side
walk. II amt awful hardy, an l sure
was plumb scared"
A sergeant took Johnnie in tow and
delivered him at length to the office
waiting-room of Captain Anderson,
head of the bureau OF missing persons.
The Runt, surveying the numbers in
the waiting-room and those passing In
and out, was ready to revise his opin-
ion about the possible difficulty Of the
job. He judged that half the popula-
ton Of New York must be missing.
After a time the captains secretary
notified Johnny that 1t was his turn.
AS soon as he was admitted the punch
erS began his little piece without wait
ing for any preliminaries.
"Say, captain, / want you to find my
friend Clay Lindsay. He"
"Just a moment" interrupted the
captain. "Who are you? Don't think ]
got your name"
Johnnie remembered the note of in
PRODUCTION and his name at the same
time. He gave both to the big man
who spent his busy days and often
part Of the nights looking for the lost,
roxyod nrd ofO1nn onnnn0 Now Vnrk'c
millions.
The captains eyes swept over the
note. "Sit down, Mr.. Green, and let's
get at your trouble. This note says
that you're looking for a man named
Clay Lindsay who came to New York
several months ago. Have you or has
anybody else heard from him in that
timer''
ave got a letter right after he got
here. He amt writ since"
Perhaps he's dead. We'd better
look up the morgue records"
"Morgue!" The Runt grew excited
instantly. "That place where yon
keep folks that get drowned or
bumped off? Say, captain, I'm here
to tell you Clay was the Invest man
in Arizona, which is the same as sayin'
anywheres. Cowpunchers don't take
naturally to morgues. No, sir, Clay
amt in no mOrgue. Like as not he's
helped fill this yere morgue if any
crooks tried their rough stuff OF him.
Don't get me wrong, Cap. Clay is the
Squarest herman ever God made. All
I'm sayin' is"
The captain interrupted. He asked
sharp, incisive questions and got busy.
Presently he reached for a phone, got
In touch with a sergeant at the police
desk in the upper corridor, and sent
an attendant with Johnnie to the po-
lice department.
The Irish sympathies of the SER
geant were aroused by the naive hon
esty of the little man. He sent for
another sergeant, had card records
brought, consulted a couple of patrol
men, and then turned to Johnnie.
We've met our friend all right"
ne said with a grin. Hes wan heluva
Lao. Fits the description to a 7.
Inere can't be but one like him here"
AND he went on to tell the story of the
adventure of the janitor and the hose.
The w%ashed-out eyes Of the punch
er lit up. THAT'S him. That's sure
MIN. Tell me where he's att"
w don't know. We can show you
the place where he tied the janitor,
Out that's the best we can do" The
captain hesitated. eff you find him,
give him a straight tip from me. Tell
nm to buy a ticket for Arizona and
lake the train for home. This town
Is no healthy place for him. Your
Trend has made an enemy-a powerful
him."
VINO is this here enemy?"
Never mind. He hit up too fast
a pace"