“Jack Ibbetts, one of the night keepers in the
jail.”
“I know him,” said the other. “But
what put that notion into your head?”
“He’s a cousin of the Todd sisters.”
“Who are the Todd sisters?”
“Jennie Todd is my girl,” said Peter.
“Girl!” echoed the other; he stared at
Peter, and a grin spread over his face. “You
got a girl in two weeks? I didn’t know you
had it in you!”
It was a doubtful compliment, but Peter’s smile
was no less expansive, and showed all his crooked
teeth. “I got her all right,” he
said, “and she blabbed it out the first thing—that
Ibbetts was her cousin. And then she was scared,
because Andrews, the lawyer, had made her and her
sister swear they wouldn’t mention his name to
a soul. So you see, they’re using him for
a spy—there ain’t a particle of doubt
about it.”
“Good God!” said McGivney, and there was
genuine dismay in his tone. “Who’d
think it possible? Why, Ibbetts is as decent a
fellow as ever you talked to—and him a
Red, and a traitor at that! You know, that’s
what makes it the devil trying to handle these Reds—you
never can tell who they’ll get; you never know
who to trust. How, d’you suppose they manage
it?”
“I dunno,” said Peter. “There’s
a sucker born every minute, you know!”
“Well, anyhow, I see you ain’t one of
’em,” said the rat-faced man, as he watched
Peter take the roll of bills from the bed and tuck
them away in an inside pocket.
Peter was warned by the rat-faced man that he must
be careful how he spent any of that money. Nothing
would be more certain to bring suspicion on him than
to have it whispered about that he was “in funds.”
He must be able to show how he had come honestly by
everything he had. And Peter agreed to that; he
would hide the money away in a safe place until he
was thru with his job.
Then he in turn proceeded to warn McGivney. If
they were to fire Ibbetts from his job, it would certainly
cause talk, and might direct suspicion against Peter.
McGivney answered with a smile that he wasn’t
born yesterday. They would “promote”
Jack Ibbetts, giving him some job where he couldn’t
get any news about the Goober case; then, after a
bit, they would catch him up on some mistake, or get
him into some trouble, and fire him.
At this meeting, and at later meetings, Peter and
the rat-faced man talked out every aspect of the Goober
case, which was becoming more and more complicated,
and bigger as a public issue. New people were
continually being involved, and new problems continually
arising; it was more fascinating than a game of chess.
McGivney had spoken the literal truth when he said
that the big business interests of American City had
put up a million dollars to hang Goober and his crowd.
At the very beginning there had been offered seventeen
thousand dollars in rewards for information, and these
