It was a matter of duty to rid the country of all
these Reds; but why should he not have the money as well?
Nell had spent the night figuring over it, trying to pick out the
right person. She had hit on old "Nelse" Ackerman, the banker.
Ackerman was enormously and incredibly wealthy; he was called the
financial king of American City. Also he was old, and Nell happened
to know he was a coward; he was sick in bed just now, and when a man
is sick he is still more of a coward. What Peter must do was to
discover some kind of a bomb-plot against old "Nelse" Ackerman.
Peter might talk up the idea among some of his Reds and get them
interested in it, or he might frame up some letters to be found upon
them, and hide some dynamite in their rooms. When the plot was
discovered, it would make a frightful uproar, needless to say; the
king would hear of it, and of Peter's part as the discoverer of it,
and he would unquestionably reward Peter. Perhaps Peter might
arrange to be retained as a secret agent to protect the king from
the Reds. Thus Peter would be in touch with real money, and might
hire Guffey and McGivney, instead of their hiring him.
If Peter had stood alone, would he have dared so perilous a dream as
this? Or was he a "piker"; a little fellow, the victim of his own
fears and vanities? Anyhow, Peter was not alone; he had Nell, and it
was necessary that he should pose before Nell as a bold and
desperate blade.
Pages:
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177