◆ SpookStack

. 202. “sut al," protests the rangeaut. "Fleyd and Dillinger are cop haters. The; shoot she lus That's what the guys here admire ‘em fore That's why they always cheer dnen the rudio mentions then or the movies show ton. They say your ge.g always shoots each other. Bump off their own brothers! That's why the boys say Diilinger's got it a12 over you. Personally, though, al, I cot a lot of respect for.you. I know you got brains. Hell, I wish I had meen ons of your men.” Flattery, such as this, never impressed Capone. Ne wus {uzun to it because he KNEW Kis power. . ; — “Listen, Budiy,” Capone says, a finger waving, “anytime I can't pull o string and cet what I want on the end of it, I aint Al Capone no more. I cot stuck ones] Only ome time, get cet The biggest thig this country ever had. I mete ay plans Ato Z. It would have gone through with- out a hitch, but someone had to throw a wrench in the works. Dumb Dutchman! If it weren't for that, I'd+be out of here today? Cut, cet me)" Capone drifts into recollection. ‘hat, the rangeran wonders, @oes he refer to. Is it presucptuous to askT Ko, ho decides; Al might ~~" sey something more to give hin an idea of this “bicnest thing”, which, if 4% terminated as Capone planted, Would have had hin “out of here today?" ; "That's how it goes," Capone continues, thinking aloud. "always soneone to au, the works. another thing that burns me up is that St, Valentine Day cmscacre, Kassacre, the papers called it. Hell, them ‘guys got only whet they deserved. Overyene of ther! But T aint thinking of that. I'm regrotti:' the one big clunce I ton to got out that was jemed up. . « Spitale! Just another vaso whe thinks he's pot brains and proves he aint!" Ho sighs as thouch fatigued. "§$50,000.:0 for a corpse! Clever cope!” “Dat, wo ach ourselves as ve note the defeated leek upon his face, mates bin co torose. He dejectedly drops on his bunk, and, his eyes leoking into space, seems to be on the verpe of tears. ‘Siset, «we further asi, could make his co sad? Is it because this “bigrest thing” didatt pan out os ke pleniued? Doss he see the freedom he sc nearly found through tids scheue nov co far from realization?