Show hands up his command by ARTHUR PETERSON copyright t B BRANFORD RANFORD rejoined the gang at wichita one week alter after tile the kansas hansas C city ity exploit BS as agreed he be added addad a line of 0 fiction to the Rel belville ville rouse house register and studied the other signatures with some interest 1 I expect a friend troia frol cintr pa toa N T Y tn he appealed theres Th erti a ur mr hassey from patcha I 1 gue in the desk man offered ott ered and branford relaxed related the tiny tension b be invariably felt elt at this juncture A 1 mr 11 rassey wey from patchogue in signI signified fled that occupied with stebbins lna in and clay in til and that the tired fired moguls of the kansas city gendarmerie gendar merie merle still promised an impending arrest in re the affair at the farmers national bank branford himself 72 1 settled in 1 I and late penetrated to after three minutes 1 s of holdup on the wrong side of the door ile he sauntered in with a sardonic grin they were soured seared like kids nipped in an apple tree but defiant 1 I smell buttle bottle and women branford also smelled the beginning of the end of the syndicate and a breach of the faith generally to whom am I 1 indebted for or mutiny rou tiny r bottle the czar stuff clay grow growled leol clay wilis talks for us branford said weve been deciding things after this clay said bald with unction the mob drops drope a mussolini and runs american plan we share everything from naming the job and thinking out the plans to splitting the dough 1 I ata am charmed to hear bear that you yoa have developed the art of thinking in so brief a flight of time branford smiled and with so EO little maternal mat erfal ue he had bud been to harvard and could say it that way were alck of your airs clay snarled youre going to step out of the lead and into line end and youre going to stick 1 I had been thinking of a very pretty little adventure in ID california bedard bragged but if the gang must march elsewhere why then 1 I shall march too I 1 am a sentimental man cl clay ay give me a drink and outline the budding project after all 1 I still hay have a vote better clay relaxed bran fo ord rd never ceased to awe him were going to take over the herds mena national at claremore oklahoma I 1 branford said a good state to be careful in but why claremore and the Herds mens Natio national nair As 0 tomorrow clay said impressively tomorrow at three in the afternoon the Herds mens check in a thirty grand oil payroll its one of those easygoing easy going god bless our neigh bors banks easy lets drink branford Bran tord suggested the gang drank long and ardently to luck and branford drank with them lie he survived tile the bout because he be considered it essential to do so he fie even put them to bed in lieu of another kind of farewell branford Bran tord left and the Re reaville iville and the wichita station in rapid succession but not so rapidly that the raveled graveled ends of the syndicate went untied branford Bran tord telephoned from a drug store booth the police chief emerged from his bed to growl ile he became an interested listener instantly st 11 1 I have never told a lie ile in all my ufa life branford murmured and you owe it to dear old wichita to believe roe me now ask the night clerk of the dabbler drug store tor for a key it will take you into at the belville Rel ville and in you will find three of the tour four pen who played snatch as snatch can witti with if lo 10 tile the Farro erg national hank bank at kansas city a week ago today 1 am tho tha fourth malefactor pa lank yoi but no to converse Is to be traced good night chief branford rolled out of wichita three minutes later he broke the straight ht line of train riding twice and redoubled into claremore thirty minutes ahead of the payroll transfer at the aba ferdmen Herd Herds men mens national and he was waa at the bank in time to witness the abo change of address of the broadest of grins had bad begun to crinkle his face into a crisscross criss cross pattern tei n of enjoyment he was thinking of clay and of clays scandalized reaction to a breach of technique the best job in a year branford smiled inwardly ile he passed unnoticed in the bank lobby and strode unchallenged to a communicating door marked with I 1 the P name of rob atlee president the secretary on guard half rose ros in her chair and collapsed with a sagging jaw branford winked and went jauntily into rob adlees sai sanctum Il hands illanas up he shouted at the white hilred man atlee quivered to hla feet turned nobl he be yelled delightedly dad I 1 my dear boy nomo to stay home to stay silly it if you want me dad want fantl I 1 rob atlea scoffed want 11 1 |