Page:Arthur Stringer - Gun Runner.djvu/83

 "But how are you going to clear me—I mean how are you going to make them see I haven't been acting against the ship, if it ever comes to a showdown!" asked the operator, not so much with timidity, but more as though he took a morbid joy in toying with the dangers of the situation.

"There'll be nothing to clear, and nothing to show," the other retorted. "All you've got to do is to have a bad ear when a certain message or two happens along. But I'll go further than that just to put your mind at rest. To-morrow, when I pay over the balance, I'll put it down on paper, with my name to it, that I guarantee to protect you. We can both sign a note showing we're acting straight and where we stand. Then you'll have me tied down in black and white. That seems square enough, doesn't it!"

"Oh, it's square enough. But suppose this man Ganley comes to me with a message to send out. I've got to show it to you, and if you don't approve of it I've got to act the lie that the message has been sent and keep lying to him every time he asks me about it."

"You're not paid to be a 'fence' for a gun-runner, are you?"

The older man laughed a little. Then he rose heavily to his feet. His head almost touched the cabin ceiling. "There's not much danger