Octavus Roy Cohen

“ That bunch that Lefty Scammon had? Gee, I ain’t that soft! The stuff he got wasn’t nothin’ but copies. We still got the originals safe an’ sound!”
“O-o-oh!” A sigh of surprise went up from somewhere in the room. Donaldson chuckled softly and continued:
“That was where my job ended. I had all the dope on the men who were in the robbery, an’ they didn’t have nothin’ but some false documents that didn’t do ’em no good, an’ I had the name of the man who was behind the thing—it wasn’t such a hard job gettin’ that info, either. Even a crook’ll talk too much if you go at him right.” ”

“ I made a jump for the winder, an’ while I looked I seen lights come on downstairs where everything had been dark, an’ just then some one shot again from behind that bush yonder—about fifty feet away from the livin’-room door that opens onto the veranda.
“An’ then I seen a man runnin’ away—just as fast as he could travel.
“An’, gentlemen, I’m here to swear by everythin’ in the world that th’ man who jumped up an’ beat it after firin’ that shot was this here Mister Lefty Scammon! I could see him that plain in th’ moonlight!” ”

“ I take the job, my work bein’ to watch an’ see that there ain’t no attempt made to get away with a bunch of documentary evidence that Mr. Hamilton has in his safe; evidence that ain’t any too sweet readin’ to certain eyes. It seemin’ as though th’ parties goin’ to be caught in th’ dragnet was wise that it was kept in this house.
“Things run along pretty easy for a while, an’ then I meets up with this guy Scammon. Right away I spot him for a crook, an’ I know he must have somethin’ up his sleeve or he wouldn’t be hangin’ around an’ buyin’ me drinks whenever we got alone together. ”