Traffic in Souls: A Novel of Crime and Its CureBall, Eustace Hale
General
Traffic in Souls: A Novel of Crime and Its Cure
Ball, Eustace Hale
Crime -- Fiction
"Doctor, why don't you air these opinions where they will count?" asked
Bobbie. "It's time to stop the graft."
"When some newspaper is brave enough to risk the enmity of church
people, who don't know real conditions, and thus lose a few
subscribers, or when some really charitable people investigate for
themselves, it will all come out. The real truth of that quotation at
the bottom of the Purity League letter should be expressed this way:
'Charity covers a multitude of hypocrites and grafters.' And to my
mind the dirtiest, foulest, lowest grafter in the world is the man who
does it under the cloak of charity or religion. But a man who
proclaims such a belief as mine is called an atheist and a destroyer of
ideals."
Burke looked at the old doctor admiringly.
"If there were more men like you, Doc, there wouldn't be so much
hypocrisy, and there would be more real good done. Anyhow, I believe
I'll look up this angelic Trubus to see what he's like."
He took up his night stick and started for the door.
"I've spent too much time in here, even if it was at the captain's
orders. Now I'll go out and earn what the citizens think is the easy
money of a policeman. Good night."
"Good night, my lad. Mind what I told you, and don't let those East
Side goblins get you."
Burke had a busy night.
He had hardly been out of the house before he heard a terrific
explosion a block away, and he ran to learn the cause.
From crowded tenement houses came swarming an excited, terror-stricken
stream of tenants. The front of a small Italian store had been smashed
in. It was undoubtedly the work of a bomb, and already the cheap
structure of the building had caught the flames. Men and women,
children by the dozen, all screeched and howled in a Babel of half a
dozen languages as Bob, with his fellow officers, tried to calm them.
The engines were soon at the scene, but not until Bob and others had
dashed into the burning building half a dozen times to guide the
frightened occupants to the streets.
Mothers would remember that babies had been left inside--after they
themselves had been brought to safety. The long-suffering policemen
would rush back to get the little ones.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account