The Early Ayn Rand

And when he dragged himself back towards the Dawn building at six-thirty P.M., he had discovered nothing. The sun was setting far at the end of Main Street and red fires blazed on the windshields of cars rolling west. The peaceful traffic streamed by as usual and the shop awnings were being pulled up over darkened windows, locked for the night, as usual; but it seemed to Laury that somewhere behind these quiet houses, somewhere in this peaceful town, an invisible, frightful doom was silently awaiting him...

"No," said Mr. Scraggs, when Laury reached the city room, "you can't go home tonight. You'll be needed here. Grave developments are coming, I feel. Take an hour off for dinner and then be back on the job. Hang around Winford, be the first to learn the results of the ransom meeting this evening. And be sure to get here before the deadline!"

Laury walked home, his hands deep in his pockets and his thoughts deep in misery. What was he to do now? He could not let Mr. Winford be robbed of that huge sum, robbed and cheated, for he knew that the second "Dammd Dan" could not deliver Jinx to her father. He must warn him. But how? He did not dare to act, now that he felt himself watched and had not the slightest idea of the enemy he was dealing with.

Just the same, he jerked his head up proudly and muttered behind a firmly set mouth:

"But if that lousy bum, whoever he is, thinks he can scare me, he has a surprise coming that he'll long remember! I'll learn what his game is and damn soon!"

"Congratulations, buddy!" said a thick voice above his ear.

He stopped short and wheeled around. A tall, huge shadow towered above him in the coming darkness. That shadow had a crumpled little cap, too small for its big head, and greasy clothes that smelled of whiskey. It had a flat face, heavy eyes, and a broken, prizefighter's nose. Laury recognized it at once: it was Pug-Nose Thomson.

"Sir?" Laury asked indignantly, backing away from the man's strange, significant grin.

"Yeah, buddy, yeah, I says it was a slick one!" answered the man with a slow chuckle.

"What are you talking about? I don't know you! Whom do you think you're talking to?" Laury threw sharply.

"I'm talkin' to Damned Dan hisselfl" the man answered happily.

Laury wanted to make a reply and couldn't.

"I says, yuh pulled the best job any guy ever tried in this burg," the man went on. "For an a matcher it was pretty slick, I'll say!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Laury pronounced with a tremendous effort, wondering himself at the calm of his voice. "Leave me alone! You've been drinking!"

"So I have. Which don't make no difference," answered Pug-Nose Thomson quietly. "An' yuh better don't pull that line on me, kiddo, 'cause I know what I know, an' yuh know it, too... But I don't mean no offense to yuh, on the conterry, I mean to pay my compliments. If that's yer begginin', yuh'll go far, young fella, yuh'll go far!"

"I don't understand you!" Laury insisted. "You're taking me for somebody else!"

"No, I ain't! Now, lissen here, I've got a offer fer yuh: Let's be partners on this job!"

"You crazy fool! If you think..."

"Aw, cut that out, I'm talkin' bizness! I know pretty damn well that yuh're the guy what writes all them stories in the poipers an' what's got the Winford dame locked up in his own joint! Which's pretty darn smart, I agrees!"

"But..."

"An' if yuh wanna know how I knows it, it's right simple: I read the poipers an' I noticed as how yuh was gettin' all them news on this bizness first. 'That's funny,' I thought to myself, 'nobody never heard of this guy before.' An' then I watched yuh, an' I saw yuh buy all them Jane's duds an' yuh ain't never got a sweetie, so there! An' I watched yer joint from acrost the street an' sure thing, there was the Winford gal at yer winder!

"Now keep yer mouth shut!" he went on, without giving Laury time to reply. "No use tryin' to fool me! Here's the main thing: I wrote that second letter to the Winford gent an' he's bringin' the dough over tonight, in an hour. Yuh bring the gal an' we go fifty-fifty on it!

"That's still plenty fer yuh," he added, as Laury remained silent and immobile. "No one ever got fifty grand fer his first job!"

Laury looked calmly, steadily into the man's eyes.

"All right, then, if you are so well informed," he said coldly, narrowing his eyes. "Now, suppose I refuse your offer?"

"Yuh won't," Pug-Nose declared with conviction, " 'cause then I go an' tell the bulls what I know on this case. An' I get the five grand of reward. So yuh better accept my offer!"

"Well," said Laury, "I accept it!"

"Great, buddy! Now..."

"I accept it on one condition: you give me twenty-four hours. We'll meet Winford at the same time tomorrow!"

"Why should I?" Pug-Nose protested. "I don't wanna wait!"

"Then go to the police at once, and denounce me, and get your five thousand, instead of the fifty you'll get tomorrow! I won't bring the girl tonight, and that's final!"