The Nitwit By William Merriam Rouse Read online

  lit up last night when they come in and left it

  “I need two,” said Huggins. open. Common sense’ll tell the cops a dummy

  “Something’s got me worried. This has went like him couldn’t do big time stuff but they’ll off too easy.”

  fuss around and every hour means so many

  “We ain’t through yet!” Travers said in

  miles for us! I’m going to slip one of them a metallic voice.

  little rings into his pocket. That’ll mix things Tiny stood a little awkwardly in the

  up some more.”

  middle of the room, fingering over and over Travers picked a ring set with a small

  the pillow of bright silk. He was grinning, as square cut diamond from the case and crossed usual, but there was something a little to Tiny’s chair. Tiny rose slowly. Travers different about the expression that stretched dropped the ring into his side pocket.

  his large face now. He looked uncertainly from one to another of the men.

  INSTANTLY several things happened with

  “Tiny,” said Travers, “we’re going for

  incredible speed. Tiny’s left arm shot out and a drive. You stay home and go to bed!”

  went around the neck of Travers. His fist lifted

  “Me go too!”

  Travers’ chin and pressed inward with deadly

  “No!” barked Travers. “You want force. With lightning speed the other big hand pillow? You want dog?”

  snatched the pistol from Travers’ shoulder He touched the pillow, took the dog

  holster and he whirled.

  out of Tiny’s pocket.

  There was no word spoken. At the first

  “Uh-huh!” The giant reached eagerly

  move Slim Huggins had gone for his pocket for the china dog.

  and Pittsburg Joe’s hand was inside his coat.

  “You stay home then!”

  Their weapons were jerked out when Tiny

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  fired with incredible speed. Huggins sank

  “Who in the devil are you, anyway?”

  backward, sickly green. His arm dropped to

  “Stoner of Gibraltar Indemnity,” said

  the table. He clamped his hand to his shoulder.

  Tiny. “My company carried five hundred

  Pittsburg Joe had stood up to take thousand on the Bowling jewels!”

  deliberate aim. Tiny sidestepped, swinging

  “Who squealed?” asked Pittsburg Joe,

  Travers’ helpless head up to the level of his in a pain-wrenched voice. “Somebody ratted!”

  chin, and the two men fired together. A bullet The weariness seemed to flow from

  raked Tiny’s ear. But Pittsburg Joe fell Stoner’s eyes and take possession of all his backward over his chair, rolled and staggered face. Even the mouth that had been set so long to his feet with his gun hand dripping red.

  in a good natured grin drooped a little at the Travers suddenly went limp in the corners. He shook his head slowly.

  crook of Tiny’s arm and his body hung like a

  “Boys,” he said, sadly, “you just

  pendulum. He slid to the floor in a ridiculous, haven’t learned how things work. You can pudgy heap. Tiny felt of his ear, shook his beat a dick like me, and you can beat the cops head, took a couple of swift steps to one side and the courts, but there’s a kind of law you so that he could cover the three men at once.

  can’t beat.

  All the kindly vacuity had gone from

  “Roger Bowling helped Inspector

  his face. It had become terrible, with eyes Lanahan, down at Headquarters, out of a jam blazing like black coals above the tanned with a new commissioner once. So every time expanse of cheeks and jowls. Slowly, then, they take the Bowling jewels out of cold that look began to fade. He did not grin, but storage Lanahan gets word from us in advance the fighting rage died from his eyes and and makes a big play for safety.

  weariness gathered around them.

  “This time he had something on Jake

  “Boys,” he said, “you might as well

  Gutman, so he played a hunch and had

  give up. I’ve fixed the distributor on your car Gutman up on the carpet. Jake had to come so it won’t start. My partner who’s been through or take ten years up the river. Lanahan playing daddy for me in the village will be told us, and I came on ahead and got all set to here any minute now. And there’ll be half a go along with you.

  dozen troopers closing in pretty soon. We

  “Can’t you see how it works? Bowling

  didn’t want to take any chances, in case you did something for somebody and now he gets bumped me off!”

  all that stuff on the table back without making Slim Huggins licked his lips.

  a move for himself. You fellows have just

  “Halfwit!” he whispered, hoarsely. “A

  pulled a hot one on another man and you’re phony!”

  going to do a stretch in the big house.

  “I used to be on the stage,” Tiny told

  “The kind of law I’m talking about is

  him. “Hairy ape roles, and the village idiot. So slower than cold molasses sometimes but it’s it came natural. The stage stuff was phony.

  sure as gravity!”

  This is real and I like it better!”