Page:Arthur Stringer - The Hand of Peril.djvu/118

 counterfeit paper of Hardman's, he agreed that big things could be done with it. Hardman supplied him with samples and sent him over to Pip Tarbeau's with them. Tarbeau's called the Poolroom King of this country. I don't know everything that took place between Tarbeau and Kilvert, after that Poolroom King had sent out for a microscope and a second green-goods expert. But that paper made him ready to deal with Hardman, who claims the money is coming to him in job lots from Sicily, through a lemon-importer named Bastedo. And that deal means that to-night Tarbeau is going to take over exactly one half million dollars in Hardman hank-notes!"

"I don't get the point," admitted Wilsnach, after a moment of thought.

"It's this, Wilsnach; one hundred thousand of that half million is going to be placed in this city; another hundred thousand goes to Chicago; another hundred thousand to New Orleans; still another hundred thousand to San Francisco; and the remaining hundred thousand is to be split between Charleston and Denver. That money's going to be held by Tarbeau's operators until a release date. Then it's going to be let loose through the paying-tellers of those different poolrooms. In other words, Wilsnach, a half million dollars in bad money is going to be suddenly exploded on the country. They can get it out the same as Sadie Wimpel has been getting hers out. It will pass muster with those poolroom patrons. It will spread like a sort of scarlet-fever into commercial circles. Then the coup will be repeated, and the second half million will make it an epidemic. By the time some bank expert