“And another thing, Hegarty found out the dope on this Gallagher guy and I swiped something to show you!”
He produced a photograph from his inside pocket and handed it to Cowboy. He also produced a newspaper clipping and showed it to the crime head. The clipping was headed by a photo just like the original print.
“SANDBORN LANDS GOVERNMENT JOB!”
The clipping, clipped from an old newspaper, explained that Mr. Sandborn had been successful in going to work for the government in one of the law-enforcement agencies. It did not give details (for it had so happened that Mr. Sandborn had kept the details very secret) but it gave his home address.
“Where’d you get this?” demanded Cowboy, staring hard.
“Well, Hegarty, as ya know, has a keen memory fer faces, and he had a hunch, after he met Gallagher that he’d seen tha face somewhere’s before so he goes to work and has a bunch of us hunting through the local papers fer a picture of Gallagher, ’cause Hegarty has the hunch the guy’s a local man! And, after a lotta looking he finds this clipping in the old file of the newspaper and being as the guy’s address and that of the kids what helped get Hogan is alike we figures we kin get a clear picture at the guy’s home. So we breaks in quiet one night and gets us a picture from the guy’s private den and this is it! Hegarty remembers reading the clipping in the paper some time back and he says, ‘This Gallagher guy is a G-man by the name o’ Sandborn! That’s the only answer to him working for Cowboy!’”
Cowboy Nevada’s cigar had gone out as he listened and he discarded it while he stared into space.
“Gallagher’s a G-man!” he muttered. “Yeh, that’s right! That would explain everything! No wonder the guy’s such a crack shot with a tommy-gun!”
Suddenly Cowboy Nevada felt chilly though the room was quite warm. Cold chills ran down his back! Why, he’d explained everything to Gallagher! Told him everything! Showed him everything! And the guy was a G-man! Cowboy began to sweat a little till his palms were moist! He hadn’t figured on tackling the F. B. I. yet awhile! He had wanted time to take over the control of politics first, then he’d have found a way to break up that band of law-men! Now he’d have to battle the F. B. I. and Hegarty, too! Cowboy turned savagely on Marzonij.
“Listen, you rat!” said he, “you get back to Hegarty and stay there! I been pretty good on hunches all my life. I had a hunch Gallagher was o.k. Well, I got stung! I can’t trust my hunches anymore! How do I know you ain’t aiming to bump me off for Hegarty, you little——!”