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Show hauling dead bones around. After he was satisfied that his suitcases were secure in the back, he climbed up on the seat next to me. "Quick, lad," he whispered hoarsely. "To Selby's. Selby's in North Beach." I knew Selby's. Selby's Smelting Works on Montgomery Street in North Beach. Then suddenly, I also knew the contents of those two suitcases. Not bones-just solid gold. At Selby's I helped the old man drag his suitcases inside, pulling with the old frayed ropes. "Here," he said, reaching into a leather pouch hanging from his belt. He handed me a gold piece the size of a hen's egg. "Wait for me outside." My eyes nearly jumped out of my head at the sight of that golden egg. "I've no change for that, sir," I stammered. "No matter," the man said with a sly grin. I then suspected he was a bank robber, and I waited uneasily in my hack. When the old codger returned, he jumped up nimbly beside me. "Now to my palace," he roared. I didn' t question him, I took him to the Palace Hotel-all the way back across town to the end of Montgomery Street, trotting Rexy through the arched driveway right along the artesian fountains of the marble-paved Grand Court. |