The roadblock was down, he noticed. The sheriff's office cars had apparently carried the cheerful cops back to Las Vegas. Maybe they'd found their man, Malone thought, and maybe they just didn't care any more. "Wouldn't a State's attorney live in Carson City?" he asked after a while. "Not old Gus Shellenberger," the cabbie said. "Many's the time I talked with him and he said he loved this old town. Loved it. Like an old friend. Why, he used to say to me--" At that point the Great Universal hove into view. Malone felt extraordinarily grateful to see it. * * * * * He went to his room with the bundle of papers in his hand and locked himself in. He lit a fresh cigar and started through the papers. Las Vegas was the one on top, and he gave it a quick going-over. Sure enough, the suicide of the Golden Palace owner was on page one, along with a lot of other local news. _Mayor Resigns Under Council Pressure_, one headline read. On page 3 another story was headlined: _County Attorney Indicted by Grand Jury in Bribery Case_. And at the bottom of page 1, complete with pictures of baffled phone operators and linemen, was a double column spread: _Damage to Phone Relay Station Isolates City Five Hours_. Carson City, the State Capitol, came in for lots of interesting news, too. Three headlines caught Malone's attention: LT.-GOVERNOR MORRIS SWORN IN AS GOVERNOR TWELVE MEMBERS OF LEGISLATURE RESIGN Ill Health Given As Reason STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: "NO COMMENT" ON RACKETS CONNECTION CHARGE. The next paper was the New York Post. Malone studied the front page with interest: MAYOR ORDERS ARREST OF POLICE COMM. The story on page 3 had a little more detail: MAYOR AMALFI ORDERS ARREST OF POLICE COMMISSIONER ON EVIDENCE SHOWING "COLLUSION WITH GAMBLING INTERESTS" But Malone didn't have time to read the story. Other headlines on pages 2 and 3 attracted his startled attention: TWELVE DIE IN BROOKLYN GANG MASSACRE Ricardo, Numbers Head, Among Slain "DANGEROUS DAN" SUGRUE LINKED WITH TRUCKER'S UNION Admits Connection "Gladly" [Illustration] HOUSING AUTHORITY DENIES, THEN CONFESSES GRAFT CHARGE Malone wiped a streaming brow. Apparently all hell was busting loose. Under the _Post_ was the San Francisco _Examiner_, its crowded front page filled with all sorts of strange and startling news items. Malone looked over a few at random. A wildcat waterfront strike had been called off after the resignation of the union local's president. The "Nob Hill Mob," which had grown notorious in the past few years, had been rounded up and captured _in toto_ after what the paper described only as a "police tipoff." Two headlines caught his special attention: BERSERK POLICE CAPTAIN KILLS TWO AIDES, SELF: CORRUPTION HINTED The second hit closer to home: FBI ARRESTS THREE STATE SENATORS ON INCOME TAX CHARGE