California -- Fiction; Distilling, Illicit -- Fiction; Ryan, Casey (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Western stories
His manner was stern, his voice perfectly official. But Casey, eyeing
him grimly, saw distinctly the left eyelid lower and lift again.
"All right--I'm the goat," he surrendered and sat down again on his
canvas-covered bed. He did not immediately crawl between the blankets,
however, because interesting things were happening over at Jim
Cassidy's car.
Casey watched Jim Cassidy go picking his way amongst the tree roots and
camp litter, his back straightened under the load of hootch he was
carrying to Smiling Lou's car. With Jim Cassidy also, Smiling Lou was
crisply official. When the last of the hootch had been transferred,
Casey heard Smiling Lou tell Jim Cassidy to drive in to headquarters
after breakfast next morning--but he did not see Smiling Lou wink when
he said it.
After that, Smiling Lou started his motor and drove slowly up through
the grove, halting to scan each car as he passed. He swung out through
the upper driveway, turned sharply there and came back down the highway
speeding up on the downhill grade to San Bernardino.
Jim Cassidy came furtively over and settle down for a whispered
conference on Casey's bed.
"How much did he get off'n YOU?" he asked inquisitively. "Did he clean
yuh out?"
"Clean as a last year's bone in a kioty den," Casey declared, hiding
his satisfaction as best he could. "Never got my roll though."
"He wouldn't--not with you workin' on the inside. Guess it must be
kinda touchy around here right now. New officers, mebby. He wouldn't
a' cleaned us out if we'd a' been safe. He never came into camp
before--not when I've been here. Made that same play to you, didn't
he--about givin' yourself up in the morning? Uh course yuh know what
that means--DON'T!"
"He shore is foxy, all right," Casey commented with absolute sincerity.
"You can ask anybody if he didn't pull it off like the pleasure was all
his'n. No L. A. traffic cop ever pinched me an I looked like he
enjoyed it more."
"Oh, Lou's cute, all right. They don't any of 'em put anything over on
Lou. You must be new at the business, ain't yuh?"
"Second trip," Casey informed him with an air of importance--which he
really felt, by the way. "What Casey's studyin' on now, is the next
move. No use hangin' around here empty. What do YOU figger on doin'?"
"Well, Lou didn't give no tip--not to me, anyway. So I guess it'll be
safe to drive on in to the city and load up again. I got a feller with
me--he caught a ride in to San Berdoo; left just before you drove in.
Know where to go in the city? 'Cause I can ride in with you, an' let
him foller."
"That'll suit me fine," Casey declared. And so they left it for the
time being, and Cassidy went back to bed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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