n the
latter had spoken of safety): some of them professional sharpers, some
unscrupulous actresses of the lower flight--such women as he had just
chatted with in the restaurants where he had made his brief visits. But
such, he now recognized, were rather BLASEES, rather too obvious. They
were the blown rose. But Maggie was fresh, and once she was properly
broken in, she would be his perfect instrument. Yes, perfect!

Barney's plans soared on. Some day, when it fitted in just right with
his plans, he was going to marry Maggie, It was only recently that he
had seen her full charms, and still more recently that he had determined
upon marriage. That decision had materially altered certain details of
the career Barney had blue-printed for himself. Barney had long regarded
marriage as an asset for himself; a valuable resource which he must hold
in reserve and not liquidate, or capitalize, until his own market was at
its peak. He knew that he was good-looking, an excellent dancer, that he
had the metropolitan finish. He had calculated that sometime some rich
girl, perhaps from the West, who did not know the world too well, would
fall under the spell of his charms; and he would marry her promptly
while she was still infatuated, before she could learn too much about
him. Such had been Barney's idea of marriage for himself; which is very
similar to ideas held by thousands of gentlemen, young and otherwise,
in this broad land of ours, who consider themselves neither law-breakers
nor adventurers.

But that was all changed now. Now it was Maggie, though Maggie in
pursuit of their joint advantage might possibly first have to go through
the marriage ceremony with some other man. Of course, a very, very rich
man! Barney already had this man marked. He hoped, though, they would
not have to go so far as marriage. However, he was willing to wait his
proper turn. As he had told Maggie, you could not put over a big thing
in a hurry.

As for Larry, he'd certainly handled that business in swell fashion!
He'd certainly put a crimp in what had been developing between Larry and
Maggie. And he'd get Larry in time, too. The drag-net was too large and
close of mesh for Larry to hope to escape it. The word he'd slipped that
boob Gavegan had sure done the business! And the indirect way he had
tipped off the police about Red Hannigan and Jack Rosenfeldt and had
then made his pals think Larry had squealed--that was sure playing the
game, too! Jack