Short Stories
THE KING OF THE GREEKS
by Jack Lo nd on
Big Alec had never been captured by the fish patrol. It was his
boast that no man could take him alive, and it was his history
that of the many men who had tried to take him dead none
had succeeded. It was also history that at least two patrolmen
who had tried to take him dead had died themselves. Further,
no man violated the fish laws more systematically and deliber-
ately than Big Alec.
He was called "Big Alec" because of his gigantic stature.
His height was six feet three inches, and he was correspond-
ingly broad- shouldered and deep-chested. He was splendidly
muscled and hard as steel, and there were innumerable stories
in circulation among the fisher-folk concerning his prodigious
strength. He was as bold and dominant of spirit as he was
strong of body, and because of this he was widely known by
another name, that of "The King of the Greeks." The fishing
population was largely composed of Greeks, and they looked
up to him and obeyed him as their chief. And as their chief, he
fought their fights for them, saw that they were protected,
saved them from the law when they fell into its clutches, and
made them stand by one another and himself in time of trou-
ble.
In the old days, the fish patrol had attempted his capture
many disastrous times and had finally given it over, so that
when the word was out that he was coming to Benicia, I was
most anxious to see him. But I did not have to hunt him up. In
his usual bold way, the first thing he did on arriving was to hunt
us up. Charley Le Grant and I at the time were under a patrol-
man named Carmintel, and the three of us were on the Reindeer,
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