"Not that I'm guilty, mind you, or anything like that. But on general
principles I usually keep out of the way of the coppers. Especially when
there's been a misunderstanding concerning some deal or other. Well, how I
happen to be here just goes to show what a sucker a guy is--even me."
* * * * *
Pressed for the key to his self-accusation, Dapper Pete continued:
"I come straight here from Grand Island, Neb. I had a deal on in Grand
Island and worked it for a couple of months. And after I finished there
was trouble and I left. I knew there would be warrants and commotion, the
deal having flopped and a lot of prominent citizens feeling as if they had
been bilked. You know how them get-rich-quick investors are. If they don't
make 3,000 per cent profit over night they raise a squawk right away. And
wanna arrest you.
"So I lit out and came to Chicago and when I got here some friends of mine
tipped me off that there was considerable hunt for me. Well, I figured
that the Nebraska coppers had let out a big holler and I thought it best
to lay kind of low and keep out of trouble. That was only last week, you
see.
"So I get the bright idea. Layin' around town with nothin' to do but keep
out of sight ain't the cinch it sounds.
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