“That doesn’t seem to me such a strong talking point in your favor,” she said thoughtfully.

“But don’t you get the idea?  I’m so strong with Barlow that I can get away with anything I want to.  That means I can give you the protection from the police you just spoke about.  See?”

“Yes I see.”  Again she spoke thoughtfully.  “But I told you I had to be shown.  You must have done some pretty big things to have got such a standing with Barlow.  For example?”

“I could write you a book!” He laughed in his excited pride.  “You ask for an example.  I could hardly hold myself in awhile ago when you said you’d practically swung the present deal alone, and that I’d done almost nothing.  Why, Maggie, I did just one smooth little thing without which there couldn’t have been any deal.”

“What?”

“You’ll admit that nothing would have been safe with Larry Brainard determined to butt in on what you did?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m the little guy that fixed Larry Brainard so he wouldn’t hurt anyone!”

“You did that?” For the first time Maggie showed what seemed to be a live interest.  “How?”

“How?  You’ll say it was clever when you learn how.  And you’ll say that I’m the man you want on that count of being able to put over a situation so that no one will ever guess I’m the man who did it.  You’ll admit that putting Larry Brainard out of business, so he’d stay out, was certainly a stiff job—­for though I don’t like him, I admit that Larry is one wise bird.  One thing I did was to suggest to Barlow that he force Larry to become a police stool.  I knew Larry would refuse, and I figured out everything else exactly as it has happened.  I ask you, wasn’t that putting something clever over?”

“It certainly was clever!” admired Maggie.

“Wait!  That’s only half.  To finish Larry off so that he wouldn’t have a chance I had to finish him off not only with the cops, but also with his pals.  So I tipped off Barlow to the game Red Hannigan and Jack Rosenfeldt were pulling and—­”

“Then Larry Brainard really didn’t do that?”

“No; I did it!  Listen—­there’s some more to it.  I spread the word, so that it seemed to be a leak from the Police Department, that it was Larry who had squealed on Red Hannigan and Jack Rosenfeldt.  Did his old pals start out to get Larry?  Well, now, did they!  If I do say it myself, that was smooth work!”

“It was wonderful!” agreed Maggie.

“And there’s still more, Maggie!  You remember that charge of stick-up and attempted murder of a Chicago guy that the police are trying to land Larry on?  I put that over!  I’m the party that was messed up in that.  I was trying to put over a neat little job all on my own; but something went wrong just as I thought I was cleaning out the sucker, and I had to be rough with that Chicago guy in order to make a get-away from him.  I beat it straight to Barlow, and said that right here was the chance to fasten something on Larry.  Barlow took my tip.  My foot may have slipped on the original job, but my bean certainly did act quick, and you’ve got to admit I turned an apparent failure into something bigger than success would have been.  And that’s certainly traveling!”