§ 54
Peter's first care when he got back into the city was to go to Mr.
Ackerman's bank and change that five hundred dollar bill. The cashier
gazed at him sternly, and scrutinized the bill carefully, but he gave
Peter five one hundred dollar bills without comment. Peter tucked three
of them away in a safe hiding-place, and put the other two in his
pocketbook, and went to keep his appointment with Nell.
He told her all that had happened, and where she was to meet Mr.
Ackerman's niece. "What did he give you?" Nell demanded, at once, and
when Peter produced the two bills, she exclaimed, "My God! the old
skint-flint!" "He said there'd be more," remarked Peter.
"It didn't cost him anything to say that," was Nell's answer.
"We'll have to put the screws on him." Then she added, "You'd better let
me take care of this money for you, Peter."
"Well," said Peter, "I have to have some for my own
expenses, you know."
"You've got your salary, haven't you?"
"Yes, that's true, but — "
"I can keep it safe for you," said Nell, "and some day
when you need it you'll be glad to have it. You've never
saved anything yourself; that's a woman's job."
Peter tried to haggle with her, but it wasn't the same as
haggling with McGivney; she looked at him with her melting glances, and
it made Peter's head swim, and automatically he put out his hand and let
her take the two bills. Then she smiled, so tenderly that he made bold
to remind her, "You know, Nell, you're my wife now!"
"Yes, yes," she answered, "of course. But we've got
to get rid of Ted Crothers somehow. He watches me all
the time, and I have no end of trouble making excuses and
getting away."
"How're you're going to get rid of him?" asked Peter,
hungrily.
"We'll have to skip," she answered; "just as soon as we
have pulled off our new frame-up — "
"Another one?" gasped Peter, in dismay.
And the girl laughed. "You wait!" she said. "I'm going to pull
some real money out of Nelse Ackerman this time! Then when we've made
our killing, we'll skip, and be fixed for life. You wait — and don't talk
love to me now, because my mind is all taken up with my plans, and I
can't think about anything else."
So they parted, and Peter went to see McGivney in the American
House. "Stand up to him!" Nell had said. But it was not easy to do, for
McGivney pulled and hauled him and turned him about, upside down and
inside outwards, to know every single thing that had happened between
him and Nelse Ackerman. Lord, how these fellows did hang on to their
sources of graft! Peter repeated and insisted that he really had played
entirely fair — he hadn't told Nelse Ackerman a thing except just the
truth as he had told it to Guffey and McGivney. He had said that the
police were all right, and that Guffey's bureau was stepping right on
the tail of the Reds all the time.
"And what does he want you to do?" demanded the rat-faced man.
Peter answered, "He just wanted to make sure that he
was learning everything of importance, and he wanted me
to promise him that he would get every scrap of information
that I collected about the plot against him; and of
course I promised him that we'd bring it all to him."
"You going to see him any more?" demanded McGivney.
"He didn't say anything about that."
"Did he get your address?"
"No, I suppose if he wants me he'll let you know, the
same as before."
"All right," said McGivney. "Did he give you any
money?"
"Yes," said Peter, "he gave me two hundred dollars,
and he said there was plenty more where that came from,
so that we'd work hard to help him. He said he didn't
want to get killed; he said that a couple of dozen times, I
guess. He spent more time saying that than anything else.
He's sick, and he's scared out of his wits."
So at last McGivney condescended to thank Peter for
his faithfulness, and went on to give him further orders.
The Reds were raising an awful howl. Andrews, the
lawyer, had succeeded in getting a court order to see the
arrested men, and of course the prisoners had all declared
that the case was a put-up job. Now the Reds were preparing
to send out a circular to their fellow Reds all over
the country, appealing for publicity, and for funds to fight
the "frame-up."
They were very secret about it, and McGivney wanted
to know where they were getting their money. He wanted
a copy of the circular they were printing, and to know
where and when the circulars were to be mailed. Guffey
had been to see the post office authorities, and they were
going to confiscate the circulars and destroy them all without
letting the Reds know it.
Peter rubbed his hands with glee. That was the real
business! That was going after these criminals in the way
Peter had been urging! The rat-faced man answered that
it was nothing to what they were going to do in a few
days. Let Peter keep on his job, and he would see! Now,
when the public was wrought up over this dynamite conspiracy,
was the time to get things done.
