The Project Gutenberg EBook of Direct Wire, by Clee Garson

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Title: Direct Wire

Author: Clee Garson

Release Date: June 3, 2010 [EBook #32672]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIRECT WIRE ***

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Amazing Stories January 1943. Extensive
research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this
publication was renewed.

DIRECT WIRE

by CLEE GARSON

Mort and Mike got strange calls on this phone; they didn't
come through Central!

* * * * *

[Illustration: He had a strange husky voice that made queer chills go
up and down your spine]

There is an empty cigar store on the first floor of the loop building
in which I keep my office. Formerly it was managed by two of the
slickest small time gambling operators who ever booked a bang-tail or
banked a game of Hooligan.

There is a small, neatly lettered sign on the door of that unoccupied
store now, however, which has caused no end of comment from the former
customers of the "cigar store" who had always been all too cheerfully
happy to lose their daily dollars there.

The sign reads:

"CLOSED FOR THE DURATION
Due to our having
Entered The Armed
Forces of the U. S.
GOD BLESS AMERICA
Mort & Mike"

If you haven't guessed as much by now, the signatures at the bottom of
that sign are those of the two former proprietors of the
establishment, Mort Robbins and Mike Harrigan.

Now since both Mort and Mike were of military age, and since this
nation is at war, it should hardly seem unusual that their former
customers and all who knew them would consider their summons to the
colors something worthy of great comment. It should hardly seem
unusual, that is, unless you happened to know the two, and realized
further that th