The Washington times., 1938-02-23

You know il s against the law
Sure ! do" said Smoke, putting
elegantly at his cigarette, but
got that one in France playing
hero" And that was true. He
was booked, anyway, but in ten
minutes his mouthpiece got him
out on bail and he left the station
house ginning. He never lived to
come to trial.
You all know how Smoke stepped
out OF a taxicab in front of the
Hotsy Totsy Tavern and when they
got through examining him at the
county morgue there were fifty
seven mechine gun bullets in and
through him.
He was not pretty to look at on
the slab | know, for l was there
covering the story. And he had one
OF those $4,000 gangster funerals.
Smoke was buried in swell fash
ion. lying in a Silver-plated coffin
that set the boys back more than
a load of hay. There was truck
load of flowers. A lot of local poll
tjcisns and some of the more inn
portant hoodlumS, as we'll as the
lesser fly. looked on Sympatheti-
cally as Smokes comely widow
Belle wept copiously at the open
grave
ASKS FOR HIS GUN
But this is not the story of
Smoke Cassidy. He's been written
UP plenty. This is about his rod.
which was put on ice at the police
station two months before he was
shot. For some reason Belle Cas-
sidy warced it back, and she went
to see Sergt. MCGUIRE three days
after they had laid Smoke away.
He got it in the army" said
Belle.
And so what?" said Mcclure,
in the idiom of the day. Il was
in the army, too. but they made me
turn in my gun. That's govern
ment property"
How many of the boys turned
in their guns, Sarge?" asked
Belle. About a dozen, I guess, if
you were sap enough to do it."
And then she turned on the charm
with her big black eyes, a tear or
two trickled down her rouged
cheeks. She go5 the rod, and a
month or so later Sammy The
Vest" Muskovitch was packing it.
Now, nobody liked Sammy
much. He was in the slot machine
racket on the West Side, was
proud of having got nickname
from Glen Lane, who turned out
newspaper sobriquets by the
bakers dozen every week, and it
was underworld recognition in
deed to be known as Machine
Bun" "Ice Wagon The Gloom
or The Vest"
Belle Cassidy married Sammy
few weeks after she had given him
Smokes rod.
GORILLAS ENTER
She and Sammy spent their
honeymoon in French Lick, and
on their return they went to a
little restaurant on Fourteenth
Street for a snack. AS they were
munching on clubhouse sand
wiches and drinking beer, two big
gorillas came in and let Sammy
have it.
At the morgue they listed Sam
my's effects as follows: One wal
let containing $685. in currency;
q gold watch and chain; some un-
important letters; a fountain pen
and pencil set; ar army Colt .38,
and his bloodstalned clothing, his
steel vest. The widow claimed it
all promptly, including the gun.
Sammy didn't get much OF a fu-
neral, for he was by no means a
big shot.
Next in our story comes Wally
Pincer, although he didn't marry
Belle. Wally somehow doesn't fit
into the picture. He was just a
well-tailored drunken bum, who
got about 500 a month for the
leg he dropped at st. Mihiel. 1t
came by check right on the first
and Wally had no trouble cashins
the checks.
Then he had an older brother
with plenty of what it takes, who
paid his room rent and gave him
money occasionally just to keep
him out of sight. That's why
WALLY FOUND DEAD
He had one good trait, though
He always paid his Speakeasy bills
when he was in the dough, and
thus could take most of his poison
on the cuff. Wally and Belle
were about the same age, and she
sort of took a shine to him. But
he was tWo-timer, and after dat
ing Belle and taking her arounc
to the dance places. he'd pick VI
with a hot spot singer named Loi
FeranZa.
He made a grave mistake there
for a right tough mugg called
Mike the Boot because he uset
his shoes in fights was sweet OF
Lou himself. When Wally wa
found dead in an alley with hi
skull caved in the cops took Smok,
Cassidy'S gun from his right hil
pocket. Mike the Boot had a swe.
alibi. No one was ever picked Vi
for the killing, and Belle go
Smokes rod back again. Il JUS