The sun streaming into the office under the drawn shades cut a bright slanting layer like watered silk through the cigarsmoke.
“Mighty easy,” George Baldwin was saying dragging out the words. “Gus we got to go mighty easy on this.” Gus McNiel bullnecked redfaced with a heavy watchchain in his vest sat in the armchair nodding silently, pulling on his cigar. “As things are now no court would sustain such an injunction ... an injunction that seems to me a pure piece
of party politics on Judge Connor’s part, but there are certain elements....”
“You said it.... Look here George I’m goin to leave this whole blame thing to you. You pulled me through the East New York dockin space mess and I guess you can pull me through this.”
“But Gus your position in this whole affair has been entirely within the bounds of legality. If it werent I certainly should not be able to take the case, not even for an old friend like you.”
“You know me George.... I never went back on a guy yet and I dont expect to have anybody go back on me.” Gus got heavily to his feet and began to limp about the office leaning on a goldknobbed cane. “Connor’s a son of a bitch ... an honest, you wouldn’t believe it but he was a decent guy before he went up to Albany.”
“My position will be that your attitude in this whole matter has been willfully misconstrued. Connor has been using his position on the bench to further a political end.”
“God I wish we could get him. Jez I thought he was one of the boys; he was until he went up an got mixed up with all those lousy upstate Republicans. Albany’s been the ruination of many a good man.”
Baldwin got up from the flat mahogany table where he sat between tall sheaves of foolscap and put his hand on Gus’s shoulder. “Dont you lose any sleep over it....”