ng.

"Hello, Barney; hello, Jimmie," Larry greeted his former allies, putting
on an air of geniality. "Been a long time since we three met. Don't
stand there in the door. Come right in."

Barney was keen enough to see, though Larry's attitude was careless and
his tone light, that his eyes were bright and hard. Barney moved forward
a couple of paces, alert for anything, and Old Jimmie followed.
Maggie looked on at the three men, her girlish figure taut and hardly
breathing.

"Didn't know you were in New York," said Barney.

"Well, here I am all right," returned Larry with his menacing
cheerfulness.

By now Barney had recovered from his first surprise. He felt it time to
assert his supremacy.

"How do you come to be here with Maggie?" he demanded abruptly.

"Happened to catch sight of her on the street to-day. Trailed her here
to the Grantham, and to-night I just dropped in."

Barney's tone grew more authoritative, more ugly. "We told you long ago
we were through with you. So why did you come here?"

"That's easy answered, Barney. The last time we were all together, you'd
come to take Maggie away. This is that same scene reproduced--only this
time I've come to take Maggie away."

"What's that?" snapped Barney.

Larry's voice threw off its assumed geniality, and became drivingly
hard. "And to get Maggie to come, I've been telling her the kind of a
bird you are, Barney Palmer! Oh, I've got the straight dope on you! I've
been telling her how you framed me, and were able to frame me because
you are Chief Barlow's stool."

Barney went as near white as it was possible for him to become, and his
mouth sagged. "What--what--" he stammered.

"I've been telling her that you are the one who really squealed on Red
Hannigan and Jack Rosenfeldt."

"You're a damned liar!" Barney burst out, and instantly from beneath
his left arm he whipped an automatic which he thrust against Larry's
stomach. "Take that back, damn you, or I'll blow you straight to hell!"

"Barney!--Larry!" interjected Maggie in sickened fright.

"This is nothing to worry over, Maggie," Larry said. He looked back at
Barney. "Oh, I knew you would flash a gun on me at some stage of the
game. But you're not going to shoot."

"You'll see, if you don't take that back!"

Larry realized that his hot blood had driven him into an enterprise of
daring, in which only bluff and the playing of his highest cards could
help him through.

"You don't think I was s