
A newly released inmate steps back onto the bustling streets of early‑twentieth‑century New York, the glare of sunlight and the clatter of Sixth Avenue pulling him from the stale confines of prison. Hungry and restless, he slips into a cramped oyster bar where the air is thick with the smell of coffee, brine and lingering grime. There he meets a flamboyantly dressed stranger—sharp‑eyed, heavy‑jewelled, and oddly confident—who seems to have been watching him from the shadows.
The stranger’s casual invitation quickly turns into a proposition: a job that promises quick cash but hints at something far more clandestine. As the two men trade jabs and jokes over beans and a glass of cheap gin, the atmosphere crackles with the tension of a world where loyalty is thin and danger lurks behind every smile. Listeners are drawn into Durkin’s uneasy reawakening, wondering whether he’ll seize the chance or be swallowed by the hidden machinations of the city’s underbelly.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (387K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by David T. Jones, Paul Ereaut, Mardi Desjardins & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team (http://www.pgdpcanada.net)
Release date
2015-10-13
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1874–1950
A prolific Canadian-born writer who made his career in the United States, he moved easily between poetry, novels, and early screenwriting. His work ranged from mystery and adventure to westerns and science fiction, giving him an unusually wide place in popular fiction of the early 20th century.
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