The Washington times., 1930-11-28
Chapter 10.

CelVer more CLOSELY 10 IAeL SAAIA'
"Are you sure you told him
It was me, Miss x, callin'?"
The Gillespie butler icily as
sured her that he was-that
he had.
"Well-will you take a mes.
sage to him? Tell him I said
I got to hear from him right
away; it's deadly important
get that? Just repeat my words
don't make up no elegant
ones of your own-deadly i'm
portant-he knows where to
reach mean said right
away. I'll be waitin'."
Annie lit a cigarette.
"This is some kind O. cuckoo
gink" she unused. "He blows
me swearin' he'd croak for me
an wants to marry me, then
he chances his life for that
s'ciety twist-hasn't called me
in two days, an won't answer
when I call him"
Complicated.
Annie's situation was compli.
Gated enough.
Five minutes before she had
telephoned Tommy for the
twentieth time since their sep
aration. Silk Freeman had
left her suite in his Napoleon
Hotel.
He had been in a hyena
humor.
He had snarled out to her
everything-how McClosky had
been insanely desperate enough
to invade the stronghold of
B. B. himself, kill two of his
men, wound old Pete and kid
nap his 100000 hostage, Alice
Schuyler, how the McClosky
gorillas had attacked his crack
waterfront forces and killed
Biff Glasson and four of his
mob and wounded a dozen
more. He had grinned, too,
like a hyena only, as he told
her he had stolen back his
$1,000,000 in smuggled and
pirated heroin, and Glasson had
knitted Cyclone Tim to death
and the boys had put away for
Wer five of Tins River Rats.
what about that Gillespie
Euak?" Silk demanded.
And Annie was stumped for
an answer except a stall.
Seeking Information
Freeman himself had no
knowledge that Tommy had
been shot in the leg in the raid
on his windowless apartment
fortress. Annie knew nothing
Of it either.
"You s'pose, Annie. that the
swaddler smells somethin'-
that he's duckin you?'
"I can't imagine what or who
could O. officed him. We was
gettin' on copesettee. H-he
WASH by any chance on Cherry
Street, was he?" and she tried
to disguise a glance Of anxiety.
mo. What'd he have to do
with that? McClosky was in
with the Gillespies to fight the
truck'n racket, but the Giles
pies weren't in with McClosky
on hi-jackin' my dope.
Annie, you got to get that
sucker back again. He goes on
the spot. An you got to put
him there"
His gunmetal eyes clarified
any doubts she might have re-
tanned.
Freeman raised his voice:
"I'll get him an knock him
off if I have to surround his
house on all four sides, batter
down the doors with typewriters
and rush in SO guys to croak
him in his old mans arms.
After the way he raided my
home, if let that Stooge live
I don think old Pete himself
would talk to me. An I
wouldn' blame him.
Anxious for Action
"Gee, Sikh had this col
lege cub all but in the bag, I
told you. Gimme another
couple O. days, anyway"
"Okay. See what you can do
on the wire. I'll be back"
Tommy Gillespie lay in bed.
His fever was subSiding. The
trifling wound in his leg was
not as simple as it had seemed.
The lead had poisoned him with
strange vindicativeness. T h e
medics couldn't understand it.
But he had caught it young and
had been able to neutralize it.
His wound didn't bother
Tommy a tenth as much as did
his puzzled conjectures about
Annie.
Cyclone Tim had planted sus-
picion in the young fellows
heart at a turn when it was so
gorged with love for the red.
headed mystery that the ground
was least fertile for hostile
thoughts of her. A hundred
times he had asked himself:
Would this woman kiss him as
she had to lure him to a dirty
death for that dirty killer, Silk
Freeman? He had refused to
answer her calls until he could
decide. Her message might be
bona fide or a frantic subter-
fuge.
Youth is trusting and love is
diSarming.
Tommy Gillespie sat up in
bed. He slid his feet over the
side, sneaked to the telephone
and called. Annie answered:
"This is Mr.. X" he whispered.