noon
I locked myself in and opened the case . Sure enough , it contained three dozen of the little gadgets . Then I sat down to wait . By noon , Judge Grannis had issued the writ of habeas corpus , and , rather than release Jason Howley , the police had booked him , and District Attorney Thursby was getting the case ready for the grand jury . There was over a quarter of a million dollars at stake , and the men behind the Golden Casino were bringing pressure to bear . If Howley was n't convicted , they 'd have to give him his money -- and that was the last thing they wanted to do . A quarter of a million bucks is n't small potatoes , even to a gambling syndicate .