The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-01-25
"RUM-RUNNMG IN
WASHINGTON
By DONALD McDOUCAL
Movie and Stage Rights Ressrved)
CHAPTER XIII

ALL
Copyright 1926
The voice may have been the
voice of DR. Brown but the back
country drawl was the drawl of
Temuel x. With more readiness
than was complimentary to me,
Shep and his fellow reptiles ac-
cepted LENS diagnosis and the
blackjack was withheld momen.
tarily.
why'd you go away and leave a
thing like that unattended? He
might have murdered half the
neighborho God
Something unusual must have
happened to excite the patient.
Something must o. upset him,
reckon He was in a lfthargic con-
dition, bordering on-er-on-a sote
o. kinda-aI-comoto He's suf-
fering from an exaggerated hyper
trophy of the soupermagnoiius
glands.
LENS weird mixture Of sway
backed medical terms and cross
roads dialect couldn't mislead any
one who held an intelligence rating
AOONG LECz Vi l1ACSnA0N~kAleSASA
idiot No one knew that any bet
ter than Lem did himself. But to
the three yolsteadeers it was law
and Gospel and Gray's Anatomy set
forth and expouiided by a guy who
was somebody and drove $4,000
car They were convinced. Any
krankling doubts produced by the
plow-handled accent were resolved
in favor of the defendant by virtue
of the imposing eight cylinder. And
claim a little credit for myself.
think the growl helped some.
1 don't remember at what stage
of the proceedings the crowd
began to collect. Several windows
ratified up while i was stu
tangled in the robes on the rear
seat. and voices called out.
heard one cry that haunted me
for months afterwards. It seem
ed as though / had heard It be
fOre-"They are killing Danny
Harris in the alley"
Those are the last coherent words
I remember hearing until Lem
arrived with his quack remedy. ana
the Mussolini government abdicated.
Then there came a scuffling that
grew to a rumbling. and the rum
bling grew to a mumbling and the
mumbling grew TO a mighty roar
The neighbOrhOOd was lined up
around us like spectators at a
circus parade.
Even little children were there,
frightened, some of them. Two
men were lifting Mrs. Harris from
the ground. and the three law en-
Sforcers were standing guard over
Danny's body with their revolvers
~ nz.1rex . I,A
ment
They were hedged in by a wall
of scowling faces-some of them as
brutal as. their own. Then fell the
first few fluttering brickbats and
the riot was on.
Come ahead, Napoleon Lem
grinned, still elated over trucking
the drysters. Come on, Napoleon,
or you'll get crowned for keeps"
And he hurried to the car.
Went With Lem Reluctantly
1 couldn't do Harris any good by
staying there and I might do my
self a great deal of harm. | went
with Lem. But / went rather slow.
] was a weak and sick bootlegger
at that minute and no mistake
An excited man wrapped in a
ragged overcoat and a loud odor of
gin made a lunge at me and
missed. Let him alone. Mister.
Let him alone shrill voice
rhirped from three feet or so above
the pavement, hes the guy that
tried to help Danny Harris" No
one Iunged at me after that.
A murmur ran through the crowd
ahead of us like a swirl Of snow
along the road. That's the guy
that tried to help Danny Harris.
Let him by" We were out Of the
hlley and two blocks on our way
home when we met the patrol
wagon screaming down Third Street
with three or four wellknown club