Shorty McCabe on the Job | Page 7

and on the first ballot he fired
Twombley-Crane out of the Q., L. & M. so abruptly that he never quite
knew how it happened. And you know how Gordon milked the line
during the next few years. It was a bitter pill for Twombley-Crane; for
it hurt his pride as well as his pocketbook. That was why he quit
Chicago for New York. Not a bad move, either; for he bought into
Manhattan Transportation at just the right time. But I imagine he never
forgave Gordon."
"Huh!" says I. "So that's why they used to act so standoffish whenever
they'd run across each other here at the studio. Well, well! And what's
your idea of applyin' a poultice to Twombley-Crane's twelve-year-old
sting?"
"Ah-h-h!" says J. Bayard, rubbin' his hands genial, and at the same time

watchin' me narrow to see how I'm goin' to take it. "Rather difficult, eh?
I confess that I was almost stumped at first. Why, he's worth to-day
twice as much as Gordon ever was! So it ought to be something
handsome, hadn't it?"
"That depends," says I. "Have anything special in mind, did you?"
"Oh, yes," says Steele. "Now what do you say to presenting him with a
nice, comfortable steam yacht, all equipped for cruising, with a captain
and----"
"Flag it!" says I. "Twombley-Crane ain't a yachty person, at all. He's a
punk sailor, to begin with. Besides, he's tried ownin' a yacht, and she
almost rusted apart waitin' for him to use her. Nothing like that for
him."
J. Bayard looks mighty disappointed. He'd planned on spendin' a
couple of hundred thousand or so of Pyramid's money at one lick, you
see, which would have been some haul for him, and my turnin' the
scheme down so prompt was a hard blow. He continued to argue the
case for ten minutes before he gives up.
"Well, what is the objection, then," he goes on, "to a handsome
limousine, with one of those luxurious French bodies, solid silver
fittings, and----"
"He's got a garage full of cars now," says I, "and hardly ever steps into
one himself. His fad is to stick to horses, you know."
More long-face business by J. Bayard. But he's a quick recoverer. "In
that case," says he, "suppose I send over for a pair of Arabs, the best
blood to be found, and have them put into his stable as a surprise?"
"Steele," says I, tappin' him encouragin' on the knee, "you've got the
spendin' part down fine; but that alone don't fill the bill. As I take it,
Pyramid meant for us to do more than just scatter around a lot of
expensive gifts reckless like. 'Some kind and generous act,' is the way
he put it. Let's remember that."

"But," says he, shruggin' his shoulders eloquent, "here is a man who
has everything he wants, money enough to gratify every wish. How am
I to do anything kind and generous for him?"
"That's all up to you," says I. "As a matter of fact, I don't believe there
ever was anybody, no matter how rich, who had everything he wanted.
There's always something, maybe so simple as to sound absurd, that
he'd like and can't get. I'll bet it's that way with Twombley-Crane. Now
if you don't know him well enough to find out, my advice would be
to----"
"Oh, I know him well enough," breaks in J. Bayard, "even if he doesn't
know me. I share the distinction with Gordon of having been, on one
occasion, barred out of Twombley-Crane's office; only I got no farther
than his private secretary. It meant a good deal to me at the time too,
and wouldn't have hurt him at all. I merely wanted his firm to handle
some bonds of a concern I was trying to promote. With merely a nod he
could have opened the door of success for me. But he wouldn't. Oh, no!
Played the rôle of haughty aristocrat, as usual, and never gave me
another thought. But I managed to get back at him, in a small way."
"Oh, you did, eh?" says I.
"It was a couple of years later, in Paris," goes on Steele. "I was dining
in one of those big cafés--Maxime's, I think,--when I recognized him at
the next table. He was telling a friend of a find he'd made in an old
printshop,--a pencil sketch by Whistler. He collects such things, I
believe. Well, this was something he wanted very badly; but he'd
happened to be caught without cash enough to pay for it. So he'd asked
the dealer to put it aside until next day. There was my chance. I know
something about etchings; own a few, in fact, although I'd never
splurged on Whistlers. But I was on