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PUBUCG SPEAKING without FEAK and TKEMBLING 4 Q Q M QQ M Public Speaking without FEAR TREMBLING MARK HANNA 1949 New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY PUBLIC SPEAKING WITHOUT FEAR AXD TREMBLING CHAPTER 1 i Neither Hall nor Mrs. Mills ever returned alive If you want the happy clatter of applause, you must know what audiences are interested in PETE . . . introduced me into Joey Fallens speak easy the same night. Joey, a former racketeer - who had served three short stretches, lived on the proceeds of the rot-gut he sold at two drinks for a quarter. His place was full of thieves. I singled out one Red Curtin on the lam from Buffalo for a stick-up as a likely partner in crime. But Red had no - worthwhile jobs in sight, so his partner was called upon. The latter, named Shin., was a six-foot Polish-Jew one of the best racket men IM ever met. He suggested we go out on a pirate cruise, a new wrinkle of his own. With Slim at the helm of our pirate ship his Buick sedan we cruised beyond the citys North Side. Slim sighted a well-dressed prospect and pulled in to the curb. I alighted and called to the man, asking if he could direct us to a certain street. When he came to within a few feet, I slipped out an automatic and told him to hop into the car. Bewildered, he obeyed, and Red lost no time in searching him. Eight blocks had been traversed when I gave Slim the word. He pulled in to the curb and we ejected the victim, minus 60 and a watch and chain. We shot away, cruised to the East End, picked up a Greek, and pried 200 out of his money belt. Then we called it a night, . . . Then I met Dutch. He was introduced into Joeys place by Slim, who had worked with him previously. A big, raw-boned 2 PUBLIC SPEAKINGtOlthout man of thirty, he - was just out of the pen. Naturally, he was broke. After working with him on a number of lesser Jobs, I became con vinced he was reliable. But Dutch was not a quick thinker. He could follow a set plan as long as things ran smoothly, yet when something went awry he was lost. Big and businesslike, he stepped into a jewelry store. Red and I followed, just as Slim eased the car in front of the store. To my consternation, when I entered, I found Dutch standing in the center of the store, which was otherwise empty, while voices came from over the top of the glass partition that enclosed the jewelers office on the side. Leaping past Dutch, I vaulted the counter. I had taken but two steps toward the office door when the proprietor, a huge Swiss, emerged. I snapped Up they go, big boy Raise those hands I swung him about with my left hand and shot him toward the office just as a crash shattered the silence. Someone in the office had hurled a heavy object through the front plate glass window. Then a door slammed and a shot rang out I stepped backward so as to command a view of both office and store. Red was running along in the store, headed for the door, his gun smoking. I knew, as I took in the panorama, that in his wrath he had tried to slug Dutch. At that moment, Slim began blowing the horn that meant a cop was in sight. Red glanced at the gathering throng, yelled Its N. G. f Lets go and disappeared through the door. I leaped to the window, gathered up a tray of rings, and followed in Reds wake. . . . The tray of rings, worth 1000, eventually fetched 150. If you are a person - who enjoys tenderloin steak and French fried potatoes, if you like football, the purr of agood motor, and the feel of a dogs ear, the chances are that you have enjoyed reading the above excerpt from a David Purroy crime story, called On the Lam, which appeared in the August, 1928, issue of The American Mercury, Most people are interested in crime. Since this is not a book on psychology, sociology, or philosophy, no attempt will be made to explain this or give a reason. The fact is, most people are inter- Copyright by The American Mercury, Inc., 1928. FKAR and TREMBLING 3 ested in crime and like to read about it. They like to hear about It, too...

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