Boy's Cinema (1930-31)

u seated near a wiftdow whose green blind was drawn. "Yeah, and it's going to bo hotter!" raged Rocco, his finger curling round the trigger of his gun. "You going to tell " His words snapped off short as he felt a sudden prod in the small of his back. The gun, shielded by the felt hat, threatened him, causing him almost to drop in sheer panic. ^ " Yes, you're right, Rocco, it s cer- tainly getting a darn sight hotter now." Again Louie glanced at Mileaway out of the corners of his eyes. "Open that window, will you, Steve, and give us a chance to cool down." In a Hash Mileaway seized the cord of the green blind, jerked on it, and let the blind run up on its roller. Next s-ccond there came a startled gasp from the assembled crooks as they saw tlij deadly muzzle of a machine-gun that was set on the fire-escape stairs beyond the window. Behind the weapon was a grim-faced man whose finger was on the trigger, while beside him was aiiotlier member of Louie's gang with a rifle lield ready in his hands. "How do you like it—sucker?" Louie grinned mockingly into Rocco's startled face. "I ought to give you a little of that heat for luck. But you just put away that toy of yours. It's too darned small." Louie waited while a trem- bling hand replaced the gun, then he turned to the meeting in general. "You fellows heard what 1 said at the open- ing of this meeting, and what I said then goes just as it is. Any mug that don't thinik so will bo treated to the swellest funeral that ever stopped traffic. You have two minutes to decide your fate. My administration or " He shrugged his shoulders meaningly. " We agree, Louie !" came in a con- certed shout from the entire assembly. Trouble on the Horizon^ FOR the whole of six months peace reigned in the city, thanks to Louie Ricarno's wonderful organisation of the bootlegging industry. The various gangs pursued their trading of illicit liquor, and never once were their recognised territories trespassed upon by rival factions—never once was the sound of gunfire heard in streets that liad hitherto been the scene of much bloodshed and slaughter. Captain Pat O'Grady, together with the entire police force, was astounded, but not one of them expected this amaz- ing metamorphosis to last indefinitely. The break would come as surely as would the crack of doom. Another month passed with the peace still unsullied. By this time Louie Ricarno was a very wealthy young man, but for all that ho was dissatisfied— sick of tlic hum-drum life he was lead- ing. Like Napoleon, whom he made his fetish, he craved for fresh worlds to conquer. There was his life story that he had promised himself he would write one day. With the thought came inspiration. He liad long since been in love with Doris Chester, whom Mile- away liad introduced to him at a dance. Why not marry, settle down and write that book? To think with Louie was to act. He consulted Doris, and because she and Mileaway liad their avaricious eyes on tho young man's wealth, the girl accepted him. All that money would bo theirs if Louie met his end in some gang feud, os they felt he surely would before he was much older. So the wedding was solcinni.sed in great secrecy, after which Louie called a meeting of every gang in his organisa- tion. Pecembcr 19th, 1031. BOY'S CINEMA "Boys, I've got some news for you and only a little time to say it in." Louie smiled as he saw the puzzled ex- pressions that came into the unprepos- sessing faces before him. " Since our last meeting everything's been going smooth and rosy. You'll admit that, huh ? I've put the beer racket on a 'business basis Hike I promised you, and now I'm quitting tho game. No, no, don't protest any of you. To-day I married, and from now on it's the quiet life for me. In future my old pal Mile- away will be the big boss." Dissentient voices arose at once, but Louie paid no heed. With a wave of farewell he sped to the door of the council chamber and was gone. Five minutes later, with Doris beside him, he was driving his luxurious Lin- coln at a steady pace for distant Florida, where he had booked by cable a six-room furnished house for his bride and himself. On the way they stopped at the Military Academy at Fairfield, which was eight miles out of Charlesworth, and visited Louie's twelve-year-old brother, Jackie, an upstanding little chap with fair curly hair and bright blue eyes. A happy hour together, with .Jackie fairly lionising Louie, thanking him times out of number for the magnificent sword he had sent him on his last birth- day. The boy simply bubbled with high spirits, and did not forget to show his appreciation of the fact that he now had a sister when Louie confessed to him that Doris was his wife. Tea followed in the large dining-hall with Jackie and his fellow-cadets, then Louie and Doris continued on their journey to Florida, Thereafter the weeks slipped by with Louie happy and contented, busily writ- ing his book, "The Life Story of a Young Racketeer." But as ho wrote on, conjuring up his daring exploits and the terrible ris'ks he had run in tho bootlegging game, he decided that tho title he had chosen was much too tame, and changed it for the far stronger one, "The Doorway to Hell." So the story progressed, and never once did Louie recall those grim words spoken by Captain Pat O'Grady that day in his office at police headquarters: "Don't write the last chapter till the night you go to the chair !" If ho had recollected them, Louie would no doubt have laughed them to scorn, assuring himself that never again would ho be exposed to tho grave risks of the past. But alas for Louie, the storm clouds were gathering fast. Back in the city he had left, gang warfare had again broken out, more terrible than before. The streets echoed once more to the vicious spubter of machine-gun fire, to tho cries and moans not only of brutal gang.9ter.s but of innocent citizens who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the lino of fire. With Louie's departure from Charles- wortih there had sounded the death knell to the wonderful organisation ho had achieved Harmony was forgotten, gangs encroached on one another's terri- tories, ambushed each other's boozo trucks, and nothing Mileaway could say or do could stem the vicious outburst of warfare that followed. "Say, Mileaway, you gotta get Louie to come back !" Mileaway faced an angry crowd of racketeers and thugs in the council cham- ber in the city underworld—men who had been strong partisans of Louie's organisation and who. with this sudden renewal of gang hostility, sorely missed his wonderful leadership. Every Tuesday "That's what I say," the Midget's voice was quite emphitio. "I was hi- jacked for twenty barrels of " "Aw, stop your squawking!" Milc- away's face was pale and haggard. He had thought himself on velvet when ho had taken over complete control of tlie organisation Louie had founded. But now he knew differently. Fellows like Rocco and Slim Sullivan wouldn't accept him as their leader, and he had neither the personality nor the strength of character to keep them in subjection that Louie had. "Ain't I doing all I can, Midget, to " "Yeah. B«t twenty barrels is twenty barrels." The Midge„ thrust out his jaw pugnaciously. "You tell me w-ho's going to make them good. Now, if Louie were hero what would ho do? Why, he'd " "Listen !" Mileaway was at his wits' end to know how to appease the in- furiated gangsters. Supposing they were to turn on him ? He trembled at the \»ry thought. "If you feel so tough about it. Midget, why don't you go out and take a slug at somebody?" "That ain't the idea," Jack Hyams, nicknamed Hymie, spat in disgust. " Louie put up a proposition, and wo agreed to it. We paid him for protec- tion and what has he done? Given us the breeze I" "Yeah, he's turned rat!" Tho Mid- get laughed scornfully. "Got scared of the whole blamed thing. It was too big for him, and he scuttled for a funk hole. That's what it was." "You think so?" Mileaway fingtjred his tie nervously, for he knew that many hidden hands among the gangsters were clutched about the butts of guns. "Well, let me tell you you've got Louie all rtrong, Midget. He was never scared of anything." " Then why can't j'ou get him to come back?" cried an ugly-looking ruffian who was known by the name of Gympy, and was a follower of the Rocco gang. "Because he's through with the racket," Mileaway explained. "I've sent him telegrams and letters. But it's no use. There's not a chance of getting him back." "Then if he's not scared, why did he quit the racket?" snarled Hymie. "You tell me that." "For two reasons, if you want to know," Mileaway volunteered. "He's goofy on Doris and doesn't want her rftixcd up in anything fishy. And that goes for that kid brother of his in that military school down in Fairfield." "Brother!" The Midget whistled in surprise. The knowledge that Louie had a brother was new to him. "You moan to say tliat Louie has a kid brother, Mileaway?" "Sure I do!" came the answer. A cunning gleam flashed into the Mid- get's close-set browTi eyes as an idea occurred to him. "Well," he said, addressing Mile- away, "Louie belongs back here, and I'm going to find a way to " " If j^ou don't watch your stop, you darned fool," Miloaway interrupted with surprising vehemence, "you're going to find a wav to treat yourself to a hand- ful of clouds 1" "Yeah!" The Midget got to his feet and advanced threateningly towards Miloaway. who quickly clapped a hand CO his gun, while every gangster present waited for the storm to break. "Tell me, Mileaway," the Midget inquired in a voice as cold as steel, "just exactly what do you mean 'oy a handful of clouds?" " I mean the kind that come out of the business end of a gun." Mileaway's fir.gcr was curled round the trigger of the automatic in his jacket pocket, ready