Show adventurers Z club 4 i cigarette in the dark by FLOYD GIBBONS famous headline hunter fw ELL sir heres one man who will never join the anti tobacco league he is peter B greenberg of woodmere Wood mere L 1 I and why wont he join the anti tobacco league well its because a cigarette once saved his life and theres quite a story back of that too boys and girls it happened back in 1924 when pete was living in brooklyn ile he started out for a stroll one evening and ran into an old school pa pal pete went to his bis pals house and since they seen each other for abood a good many duany years they began to swap titles pete was in the heating business and doing pretty well at it but the years year treated his pat pal so well he was a doctor and hew he asIt making much money at his chosen profession in fact helas behind in his hl rent down at the office and was going to have to move out on the first of the week well pete had bad a couple of trucks that he used in his business and he offered to move his friends furniture ills his pal accepted the offer gratefully and on saturday pete went down to his big to help him pack up q i landlord was the last man they wanted to see pete started out for the office that saturday with his big pack of cigarettes in his bis pocket and little dreaming that one of those butts would suddenly turn into a life preserver before the evening was over he got to the docs office and they began packing up the furniture they had been working for about half an hour when there came a knock on the door pete started to open it but the doc held him back whispering to him that it was probably the landlord who lived I 1 in the building and what with owing him a lot of rent money he was the last man in the world doc wanted to meet but somebody had to say something to be discreet says pete 1 I asked who was there and I 1 was asked the same thing I 1 told him I 1 was a friend of docs and that we were cleaning house all right he answered and I 1 could hear bear him walking away down the flight of stairs stick em up exactly music musi c to petes ears it was a close call but it looked as it if they had gotten by with it it pete and doc were almost finished with the packing by then there were just a few pete felt a gun jammed between his ribs things left that the doc wanted to tare care of himself pete lit a cigarette and called it a day ne ile put on his coat walked down the stairs and waited for the doc who said he would be with him shortly it was cold outside so pete just stood in the vestibule to keep warm the vestibule was dark he says and all I 1 could see was the lighted cigarette between my fingers the doc was a long time coming I 1 finished my cigarette waited a while and then lit another one it was a good thing I 1 did the fact that I 1 am alive today is probably due in a large measure to the fact that at times I 1 will smoke one cigarette right on top of another the minutes dragged on pete was halfway through that second cigarette and was beginning to wonder why the doc come his back was to the door and he be was leaning against the wall when suddenly out of nowhere came the terse command put them up landlord Is suspicious of skulduggery in docs Off office lice says pete 1 I was startled at first then it came to me that doc had sneaked down the stairs and was playing it a loke joke on me I 1 said oh stop your kidding doc and with that something hard it hurt I 1 tell you jammed between my ribs and again came the order put em up or ill shoot that time petes hands went up just as fast as he could raise them he know then that it was a stick up or what but hed felt that gun in his ribs and that had been plenty now a hand pulled him out into the vestibule and he saw to his relief that it was a policeman then the story began to come out when the landlord had bad knocked at the office door he had become suspicious at the evident reluctance of whoever was inside to let him in ile he believe pete when he be said he be was a friend of does docs and in fact sort of suspected that there was burglary afoot glowing cigarette butt Is beacon to copper when he went down those stairs he went right out looking for a policeman ile he found the officer on post told him there were N ere burglars in tits his house and the cop came hot tooting footing it back to the vestibule where pete was waiting and it was nothing but the ci cigarette barette that saved petes life at the first command which pete obey the cop tightened his finger on the trigger he was ready to shoot the minute the second command was out of his mouth it was dark in the vestibule the cop see a thing but that cigarette butt when it went up in the air it told him that his command had been obeyed and he hold held his fire when the cop walked up to docs onice office to check his story he be was white in the face and covered with perspiration the realization that he bad nearly killed an innocent man made him weak in the knees for the better belter part of an hour bour and as for pete well he be feel any too chipper about it either tie he still to this day C service |