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“The cops won’t be any help The way the city works, politicians, builders, the church, the cops, and gangsters divide it up Long as nobody gets so greedy that the refor to bother each other over a private detective getting beat up So we’re on our own Listen, Isaac, this is odd It’s not Tommy Tho alike that to a rival gang-the Dusters or the Five Pointers He knows you don’t do that to the Van Dorns He’s asorders from the spy”

“I want you to send a e back”

“I can get the word passed to people ill tell him, if that’s what you mean”

“Tell the his old friend Jethro Watt-Chief of the Southern Pacific Railroad Police-asking hiuard the Eleventh Avenue freight sidings”

“Can you do that?”

“Jethro is always spoiling for a fight, and I know for a fact that the railroads are getting fed up with their freight trains being robbed Toain The SP’s cinder dicks h as nails, and the only thing they fear is Jethro Until they get here, none of our boys go alone Two Van Dorns or more on the job, and careful when they’re off duty”

“Speaking of alone, I bumped into your pal John Scully”

“Where? I haven’t heard from him in weeks”

“I shadowed a Gopher lieutenant into Chinatown Dead end He spent the day s opium Scully wandered into the joint tricked out like a tourist”

“What was Scully doing?”

“Last I saw, lighting a pipe”

“Tobacco?” Bell asked, doubting it

“ ’Fraid not”

Bell looked at Harry Warren “Well, if you could survive it, Scully will, too”

THE TRANSATLANTIC STEAMER Kaiser Wilhem der Gross II thrust four tall black funnels and two even taller e Her straight boered over tugboats, the pier, and fleets of horse-drawn hansom cabs and motor taxis