Johnston McCulley

“ Joe Carden commanded. “I think I can use a man like you, Burke—possibly make something of you before I’m done. I’ve had a man for a couple of years, and only yesterday, catching him stealing from me, I suggested that he leave town and remain away. I am informed that he is on his way West. And I want a man to take his place.”
“What’s the job?” Burke asked.
“Obeying orders. I live like a gentleman, and a gentleman has a servant. ”

“ There came an evening, dark and misty, when Burke slipped from the room he called home, went straight down a flight of rickety stairs, journeyed through a foul alley that was in total darkness, and so came to a side street where there were few pedestrians save furtive men who dodged into the shadows when they met one another. ”

“ Catching a man off guard that way was half the battle; a man taken by surprise rarely thinks and acts quickly.
The path forked, and Burke held himself ready to dodge to the other branch of it if his prospective victim elected to take it. But his man came straight on.
Now Burke prepared for business. He glanced down the walk in the other direction and made sure that nobody approached. He pulled the handkerchief up over his chin, settled his cap, picked up the revolver, and braced himself for a quick step to the edge of the walk. ”

“ Burke did not like the glitter. It would be a good job, too, to work for a topnotcher. The misery of his existence might be removed. Perhaps he would have ample funds with which to purchase the fashionable raiment he craved. Even at that day Burke longed to be Nifty Burke.
“Well?” Carden snapped.
“You’ve got a man,” Burke answered. “Where is that umbrella?”
Carden motioned toward it, and Burke picked it up and opened it, and held it over the head of his new employer. They walked quickly along the path toward the nearest exit of the park. Burke watched Joe Carden from the corners of his eyes ”

“ Joe Carden tried it for six months, and then gave it up as a bad job. Burke continued to use a language of his own, not exactly a bad language, but one through which idiomatic remarks were scattered generously.
But Burke was not dismissed. He formed a sincere attachment for the crook comedian, and became a man of value to him. Burke did have genuine courage, as Joe Carden soon dis- covered, and also a certain amount of originality and ability. They worked well together, and profitably. ”