Free The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett Page B

protection, Paul, and I want it. Business is business and politics is politics. Let's keep them apart."
    Madvig said: "No."
    Shad O'Rory's blue eyes looked dreamily at some distant thing. He smiled a little sadly and there was a note of sadness in his musical slightly Irish voice when he spoke. He said: "It's going to mean killing."
    Madvig's blue eyes were opaque and his voice was as difficultly read as his eyes. He said. "If you make it mean killing."
    The white-haired man nodded. "It'll have to mean killing," he said, still sadly. "I'm too big to take the boot from you now."
    Madvig leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. His tone attached little importance to his words. He said: "Maybe you're too big to take it laying down, but you'll take it." He pursed his lips and added as an afterthought: "You are taking it."
    Dreaminess and sadness went swiftly out of Shad O'Rory's eyes. He put his black hat on his head. He adjusted his coat-collar to his neck. He pointed a long white finger at Madvig and said: "I'm opening the Dog House again tonight. I don't want to be bothered. Bother me and I'll bother you."
    Madvig uncrossed his legs and reached for the telephone on the table. He called the Police Department's number, asked for the Chief, and said to him: "Hello, Rainey Yes, fine. How are the folks?… That's good. Say, Rainey, I hear Shad's thinking of opening up again tonight… Yes… Yes, slam it down so hard it bounces… Right.
    Sure. Good-by." He pushed the telephone back and addressed O'Rory: "Now do you understand how you stand? You're through, Shad. You're through here for good."
    O'Rory said softly, "I understand," turned, opened the door, and went out.
    The bow-legged ruffian paused to spit-deliberately-on the rug in front of him and to stare with bold challenging eyes at Madvig and Ned Beaumont. Then he went out.
    Ned Beaumont wiped the palms of his hands with a handkerchief. He said nothing to Madvig, who was looking at him with questioning eyes. Ned Beaumont's eyes were gloomy.
    After a moment Madvig asked: "Well?"
    Ned Beaumont said: "Wrong, Paul."
    Madvig rose and went to the window. "Jesus Christ!" he complained over his shoulder, "don't anything ever suit you?"
    Ned Beaumont got up from his chair and walked towards the door.
    Madvig, turning from the window, asked angrily: "Some more of your God-damned foolishness?"
    Ned Beaumont said, "Yes," and went out of the room. He went downstairs, got his hat, and left the Log Cabin Club. He walked seven blocks to the railroad station, bought a ticket for New York, and made reservations on a night train. Then he took a taxicab to his rooms.

7
    A stout shapeless woman in grey clothes and a chubby half-grown boy were packing Ned Beaumont's trunk and three leather bags under his supervision when the door-bell rang.
    The woman rose grunting from her knees and went to the door. She opened it wide. "My goodness, Mr. Madvig," she said. "Come right on in."
    Madvig came in saying: "How are you, Mrs. Duveen? You get younger-looking every day." His gaze passed over the trunk and bags to the boy. "Hello, Charley. Ready for the job running the cement-mixer yet?"
    The boy grinned bashfully and said: "How do you do, Mr. Madvig?"
    Madvig's smile came around to Ned Beaumont. "Going places?"
    Ned Beaumont smiled politely. "Yes," he said.
    The blond man looked around the room, at the bags and trunk again, at the clothes piled on chairs and the drawers standing open. The woman and the boy went back to their work. Ned Beaumont found two somewhat faded shirts in a pile on a chair and put them aside.
    Madvig asked: "Got half an hour to spare, Ned?"
    "I've got plenty of time."
    Madvig said: "Get your hat."
    Ned Beaumont got his hat and overcoat. "Get as much of it in as you can," he told the woman as he and Madvig moved towards the door, "and what's left over can be sent on with the other stuff."
    He and Madvig went downstairs to the street. They walked south a block. Then Madvig