The Washington times., 1938-02-23

! Sullivan was KIND oil sweet on
Belle himself, and knew about that
Colt. So he dropped in and Dor.
rowed it, and an hour afterward,
while sitting in the dicks room at
the BarStow Station he began
cleaning it. The rod hadn't been
cleaned in a long time. The poor
boob neglected to unload 1t, and
shot himself in the foot.
1t wasn't long after repeal that
Belle got married a third time.
She was then about "a, and her
looks had begun to fade. This
time she married a guy who looked
mighty respectable. His name was
Finley-William K. Finley-and
he was an insurance adjuster. Had
a pretty fair job, enough to set
up Housekeeping with Belle in a
nice apartment up by Greenleat
/ Park.
They had a thousand dollar
sedan aud Belle wasn't seen any
more about the dance halls and
tavernS. Shed serve beer and
sandwiches to her friends, and
that was as wild as she ever got,
and she never even tossed a little
beer party at home in her huS-
bands absence. He was a quiet,
unpreposSeSSing little man, about
40. l used to drop out there once
in awhile in the evening. Belle
/ always liked us district reporters,
and we liked her, and when she
was in the limelight as Smoke Cas-
sidy's widow and the murdered
Sammys widow we asked our re-
write men to give her break,
which they usually did.
LOUIE SPILLS BEANS
The police arson squad was
having it's hands full. There was
lot of fires, and some of them
looked mighty suspicious. 1t was
not until they caught Louis the
Torch red-handed, with a can OF
gasoline in his mitt. Sprinkllng 1t
all over a rubbish-filled basement
of a neighborhood grocery store,
that the thing broke wide open.
l guess they mussed up Louie
pretty rough, but when they got
through with him he'd spilled the
beans on about so fires. One of
them was in a Beckman Street
tenement. Six people died that
night, including four little chill
dren. 1t was a well organized
gang Of arSoniSts. and Louis
named q dozen ringleaders, as
we'll as the many landlords, mer.
chants and small shopkeepers
who got the insurance. The Big
Boss, he said, was Bellies hus-
band.
They didn't waste any time
rounding up that murderouS mob,
and squads were sent out in all
directions. Captain Mitchell and
six picked men went to Finley's
apartment.
Captain Mitchell rang the door.
bell. A mans voice-it was Fin
ley's-wanted to know who it was
"Police!" said Mitchell sharply
open up!"
SHOT RINGS OUT
There wasn't a sound for min
ute or two. Then a shot rang out,
a bullet crashed through the door.
A cop named Verify stumbled. He
was shot through the shoulder.
Then Belle started screaming in
side the place. Mitchell yelled to
his men to get back from in front
of the door, and he fired a couple
of times before crashing it with
his bulky shoulders. They all
moved in, firing as they ran.
Finley was shooting back at
them. The captain was pinked in
the legs, but he kept on. He
emptied his remaining shells into
Finley's body, but guess it wasn't
any use. The man was dead with
the first volley after the cops
smashed through. Belle was sob
bing in the doorway leading into
her bedroom.
OF course, they took her to
headquarters, Sweated her for a
week, but she finally convinced
the D. A. that she didn't know
anything about Finley'S connec,
ton with the arson gang.
never believed she did, either. She
wasn't crooked, and she wouldn' I
have been mixed up with the ar.
son murder of little children.
The D. A. let her go, and gave
her back Smokes gun, the one
Finley was blazing away with
when he died. I don't know why
he gave it back, Maybe he didn't
want it around his office.
A few nights later Belle called
me up on the phone at Pete Nal
loy's saloon, where a bunch OF
us used to hang around after
work.
Il want to see you," she said
Its important"
When she opened the door
could see that she had aged sew
eral years since the night thai
her husband died in front of her
Have a shot of Scotch?" she
said.
!, I let her mix me a highball. anC
, waited for the business. 1t didn't
, take long. She opened a table
, drawer and handed me Smokes
, gun.
r Take this" she said. Get ric
+ Of it. Give it to someone yol
|. don't like, but anyhow get ric
. of it,"
l put the gun in my pocket anc
crank the highball. There didn,
:. seem anything to say. I had an