Drop the suit and
The Patriot will be considerate and settle the legal fees. Aminadab
drops, ten times out of ten. The sandbag has put him away."
"But there must be an eleventh case where there's nothing on the man
that's suing."
"Say a ninety-ninth. One libel suit in a hundred may be brought in good
faith. But we never settle until after Ives has done his little prowl."
"It sounds bad, Pop. But is it so bad, after all? We've got to protect
ourselves against a hold-up."
"Dirty work, but somebody's got to do it: ay--yes? I agree with you. As
a means of self-defense it is excusable. But the operations of the
sandbag have gone far beyond libel in Ives's hands."
"Have they? To what extent?"
"Any. His little private detective agency--he's got a couple of our
porch-climbing, keyhole reporters secretly assigned to him at call for
'special work'--looks after any man we've got or are likely to have
trouble with; advertisers who don't come across properly, city officials
who play in with the other papers too much, politicians--"
"But that's rank blackmail!" exclaimed Banneker.
"Carried far enough it is. So far it's only private information for the
private archives."
"Marrineal's?"
"Yes. He and his private counsel, old Mark Stecklin, are the keepers of
them.
Pages:
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653