ly, until Gordon was able to convince him
that it was the people who paid his salary. Then he nodded. "It's a
helluva roundabout way of doing things, gov'nor, but if the gees pay for
protection any old way, then they're gonna get it!"

They got it. Hoodlums began moving elsewhere, toward easier pickings.

Gordon turned his entire pay over to Sheila; at current prices, it would
barely keep them in food for a week. "I told you you had a punched meal
ticket," he said bitterly.

"We'll live," she answered him. "I got a job today--barmaid, on your
beat, where being your wife helps."

He could think of nothing to say to it; but after supper, he went to
Izzy's room to arrange for a raid on Municipal territory. Such small
raids were nominally on the excuse of extending the boundaries, but
actually they were out-and-out looting.

He came back to find her cleaning up, and shoved her away. "Go to bed.
You look beat. I'll sand these."

She started to protest, then let him take over.

They never made the looting raid. The next morning, they arrived at the
Precinct house to find men milling around the bulletin board, buzzing
over an announcement there. Apparently, Chief Justice Arliss had broken
with the Wayne administration, and the mimeographed form was a legal
ruling that Wayne was no longer Mayor, since the charter had been
voided. He was charged with inciting a riot, and a warrant had been
issued for his arrest.

Hendrix appeared finally. "All right, men," he shouted. "You all see it.
We're going to arrest Wayne. By jingo, they can't say we ain't legal
now! Every odd-numbered shield goes from every precinct. Gordon,
Isaacs--you two been talking big about law and order. Here's the
warrant. Take it and arrest Wayne!"

It took nearly an hour to get the plans settled, but finally they headed
for the trucks that had been arriving. Most of them belonged to Nick the
Croop, who had apparently decided the Legals would win.

Gordon and Izzy found the lead truck and led the way. They neared the
bar where Sheila was working, and Bruce Gordon swore. She was running
toward the center of the street, frantically trying to flag him down,
and he barely managed to swerve around her. "Damned fool!" he muttered.

Izzy's pock-marked face soured for a second as he stared at Gordon. "The
princess? She sure is."

The crew at the barricade had been alerted, and now began clearing it
aside hastily, while others kept up a covering fire agains