Evening star., 1936-07-09
CHAPTER X.


exhumed from the past; not seeing
that the words that came from Vic
tors mouth were forced; that his
smile went no deeper than the surface
of his lips. And then suddenly they
both fell silent, as II they had COW
cred everything that could be said.
Victor lit a cigarette and smoked
It slowly. staring at the clear-cut
perfection of Patsy's profile in repose.
He was remembering that she had
said more than once tonight that
he had not changed from the small
boy on the banks of the Severn that
she and Richard Bowie and Ted had
known. Small boy, yes-but eight
years older than Patsy then-a mil
lion years older now. He turned
little sick inwardly and wonderer
how she would feel if she really
knew all about him. If she knew
about those days, years ago, when
he had been a callow youth In New
York, seeking to make a fortune
an honest fortune-because there was
girl in Annapolis who must be
that tonight in white rage of anger
and hate, his control deserting him
for the first time in years, he had
knocked a woman down and had
walked out and left her moaning on
the floor, the blood of her bruised
lips on his hands.
He closed his eyes for a moment
and sternly clamped the lid on all
emotion and looked back on his life.
He could see very plainly the ugly
narrow street where he boarded in
New York, the elevated roaring past
his room, the endless clothes lines
that criss-crossed at his window,
shutting off a view that was, perhaps.
as well obliterated.
He could see. too, that crowd Of
boys he had "ganged up with on
the East Side, believing them to be
Just fellows like himself, out to make
their way in life That last after
noon driving their car. obeying them
to the letter, because he stood in
awe of them, yet not really knowing
what they were up to until they came
backing down the steps of the bank,
the cops running toward them, shoot
ing-the rattling burst Of machine
gun.
The trial-the sentence Of to 10
years-hate running silent and cold
In his veins, tightening his lips, seeth-
Ing like boiling lava in his brain-a
hatred and control that later earned
for him the monicker Dead Pan
Caldwell" because his expression
never changed, no matter how his
!nsides shuddered.
-Four years in stir and then out
on good behavior. The girl in An
napolis probably thinking him dead
because he had been too proud to
let her know where he was. Four
years Of clinging to an incongruous
dream of seeing her finding her wait
ing in the rose garden where he had
left her, showering fine presents at
her feet and burying his head against
her soft breast. A dream that had
to do with going straight, picking up
the threads of his shattered life and
making a clean start. But Annapolis
finally and really-and the girl gone.
Victor drew on his cigarette. What
would Patsy think if she knew how
he had made his money. Starting
with $500 saved up from slaving in
Pennsylvania coal mine, he had
worked his way to what he was now
big shot in the numbers racket
"A racket that was sweeping the
the country, the operators take in
New York City alone being S2,00O,000
every week. 1t was good racket.
And the safest ever devised.
The numbers had side brackets, too,
that were highly profitable: The
dream book that sold for 81 and in
terpreted dreams into winning num-
bers; the system book that told how
to beat the racket 1t was sup
posed to have been written by
vorld-famous mathematician, who
had taken into account the laws Of
proba bility, chance and Formulation
and sold for $1,000. He had written
the book himself and at random had
selected the 20 magic" numbers in it.
The other big shots hadn't made
the success of the numbers that he
had-at least, not until they had
learned his technique. He was the
one who had thought of the books
and the way to increase his enormous
army of collectors"
When he had wanted the owner
or proprietor of a f1ourishing grocery
store, beauty parlor, cafe or pool
room to be his collector" and to
talk numbers to his customers, he
had sent out smooth emissary to
have talk with him, offering him
10 per cent commission. If the man
refused, then the next day he was
beaten up or found his shop wrecked,
or worse.
That Shrewdly organized money
mulcting combine in New York had
copied his every move, had almost
crowded him out once or twice, but
he was working on a racket now
that they couldn't lift because it was
only good for one go-the suckers
would fall for it twice. 1t would take
more ready money than he had on
hand to promote it, juggling his funds
around as he did to evade the income
tax Nor could he raise the dough
in New York, where he was shadowed
and checked on by the rival money
nulcting combine. He had tried to-
night to raise s500o0-by blackmail.
And now before his eyes lay wom-
an moaning on the floor, the blood of
her bruised lips on his hands. Hid
eous, the way that picture came back
into his eyes over and over. no mat
ter how he dug into his brain for other
thoughts to obliterate it. How des-
perately thankful he was that all of
his control hadn't failed him, that he
had left before he had killed her in
his rage; how desperately thankful he
was that he had safeguarded himself
against this disastrous act.
Suddenly deeper panic than he
had ever known assailed him. He
told himself that 1t was his over
rfro iy,ad y,ary,aS foof voodo hin, ~, a ~