A FLOOD AND FELONY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 224, 22 September 1925, Page 16

A FLOOD AND FELONY.

(By ELLIOT BAILEY.)

(SHORT STORY.)

"And that," remarked Violet Hilton, dolefully, "may be said to have torn it!" Returning from a jaunt to London in Gerald Latimer's two-seater, they had essayed a short out across country, only to find that the floods were out and the by-roads almost impassable. One water-splash of alarming dimensions had already been negotiated, and now it seemed as if they had met their Waterloo. Higher and higher the water had mounted, first to the axle, then gurgling through the floor-boards, and finally it must have swamped the ignition, for with a jerk and a final sizzle the car stopped dead, leaving them marooned in a watery waste from which there appeared no escape. - The girl turned to the perturbed driver. "Now what's to be done?" she asked. "We simply must get home before dark, or there will be a deuce of a row." "Blest if I know," was the gloomy reply. "We might get out and push, but by the feel of it she's stuck in about six inches of mud as well, and I doubt if we'd move her. Anyway, the stuff's a bit deep for you, old girl." Violet craned her head over the side, and regarded the three feet of brown liquid which flowed sluggishly past them. "One would get one's boots a bit damp, wouldn't one?" she observed. "Still, the car's rather like a bath as it is." A muddy ripple, slopping across her instep, gave point to her words. "I'd almost as soon bathe as paddle, Gerald," she said, plaintively. And bathe—in the sense of wading in and attempting to push —they might have done, when to their joy they heard the sound of another car. It was also a two-seater, fast and rakish-looking, containing two men, and coming along the route they had just traversed. It slowed down as its occupants Baw their plight, and Gerald shouted a warning regarding the depth of the water. It came gingerly on, however, a wave surging back from its bonnet. There was just room to pass, and one of its occupants accosted Gerald cheerfully as it drew level. "We'll soon have you out," he said. "As it happens, we've got a length of rope with us." Violet and Gerald watched it with tense interest as it edged past. It probably represented their last chance of rescue, as the road they were on was little frequented and likely to be still less so considering the weather. Their relief was great when they saw it get by safely, and they realised that they were in the deepest part of the flooded road. Twenty yards farther on the water was scarcely half-way up the wheels. At this point the other vehicle was pulled up and one of the men alighted with a length of rope which must have been coiled in the bottom of the car. He wore waders, and Gerald regarded him with curiosity as he splashed along unconcernedly. "You seem to be prepared for anything," he remarked. The two men exchanged glances. "Well, you see, we know this road," replied the one in the waders. "Yours is not the first car we've had to tow when the water's out so. As you say, we come prepared now. Just let mc get this rope fixed, and we'll have you out in a jiffy." He was ag good aa his Word, and very ■oon they were being drawn through the rapidly-shelving water. When they reached the dry road again Gerald raised his hand. "Thanks," he called; "that will -do nicely. If you will unhitch the tow rope, I'll start her up."

- Once more tha car in front pulled up, and this time both the man in waders and the driver descended. Tha rope was unhitched, and Gerald pressed the self-starter. It seemed to him that the others had given him no room to pass, but his immediate anxiety was to start his engine—and there was an ominous lack of response to the starter. Finally he climbed down and swung the emergency handle. Again there was not the vestige of a fire. It was at this point that another look passed between the two men from the other ear One of them shook his head with an almost imperceptible movement, and came forward and grasped the handle. "Let mc have a try," he suggested. His hefty swing threatened to lift the light machine clean off the road, but the effort was vain. It was evident to Gerald that the water's penetration was serious, and the girl and he felt their spirits sink again. Tho other driver voiced their fears. "Afraid it's going to need a mechanic to get you going again," he announced. "Got far to go?" Gerald told him, and he appeared to hesitate. "Oli, well," he said at last, "it's a bit out of our way, of course, but we'd better finish the job and tow you home. No, don't mention it," he added, cutting short Gerald's protestations. "I don't like to leave you Btranded." Tlie latter was too grateful to protest. The gathering dusk warned him that he must get the girl home soon if he was to avoid the wrath of astern parent. The tow-rope was replaced and the procession restarted. Gerald steering his useless car behind the other. For a while they jogged along qUietly, and then with a start Gerald realised they were off the proper road. • He shouted the information to the men in front, and at first they appeared not to hear him. Finally one of them turned and called back that they were taking a short cut, a fact which puzzled 'Gerald, for he knew* the district pretty well, and could not see how their present route was going to help them. A little later he became uneasy, and then angry. They were hopelessly wrong, poing straight up into a lonely range of hills, and the road was becoming rousher. "What are you fellows playing at?" he shouted again. "You must know this isn't the right way." This time there was no" pretence at answering him, though he knew that they must have heard. Instead the speed increased so that he was fully i occupied in guiding his Car round the 1 twisting comers. Deep down in his heart there was -fear, and glancing at Violet he saw the reflection of it in her | eyes. -.-■ ~. | "I believe they're crooks," she muttered.. "Oh, Gerald!?' Both had a ! reason for this belief, apart from the I peculiar behaviour of the men in front. Gerald's mouth set into stern lines. It seemed to him that trouble—big trouble—was looming ahead. These suspicions were quickly vindicated. The track led into a saucerlike depression, surrounded by trees, as lonesome a place aa could 'be found anywhere. Hera the car in front came

to a standstill, and the men sprang out. They hastened back to the one they had towed, and in the hands of one of them Gerald saw a pistol. "Get down, both ol you, and stand quite still," this individual commanded. Gerald's brain worked quickly as he obeyed. He guessed what was coming. "Now," the armed man ordered, "hand over the necklace you are carrying in your pocket, and be sharp about it." A little gasp came from Violet. The object of their visit to town had been to bring back a valuable diamond necklace belonging to her mother, which has been re-set at the jeweller's. It was obvious that, these men knew all about that, and that they had been following with the full intention of making the flooded road assist their plans. Had Gerald been able to restart his car after emerging from the water they would, no doubt, have brought off the robbery then and there—he remembered how their motor had blocked any way of escape—but as it was, they had been enabled to reach a spot still more immune from interruption. How they had learnt of the necklace was a mystery, but doubtless it had been talked about'lncautiously in the house, and the news had percolated outside. As they surmised, it was now reposing in Gerald Latimer's pocket. The latter's eyes gleamed. Pistol or no pistol, he was not going to give up the jewels without a struggle, and, warned by what they read in his face, the would-be thieves closed in upon him. They almost ignored Violet, anticipating little trouble from her direction. In a flash she realised this, and as tbe two scoundrels advanced on Gerald, she edged nearer and nearer to their car. The germ of a desperate purpose forming in her mind, she screwed herself up to a great endeavour. She heard rather than .saw their concerted rush, and the thud of Gerald's fist as it got home on one of the faces. Then she flun« herself into the driver's seat, switched on the engine, and let in the clutch. At once the unarmed man broke away from the melee, which had just started, and pelted back towards her. She did not hesitate for an instant. Opening the trottlo so that the car sprang forward like a dog released from the leash, she steered at him, struck him full, and heard his scream as he went down beneath the wheels. Then she saw the second man fall, and Gerald came staggering towards her. "In," she cried. "Quickly!" He scrambled in and thrust the pistol into her hand. "Take this, Violet. I'm just about done—he hit mc over the head with the butt-end just as I floored him." She took the weapon in her left hand. Gerald had hardly spoken when he drooped forward in a faint. At the same moment the fellow with whom he had been struggling got to his feet and made a rush for the car. Violet held him off with the revolver. "If you come a step nearer, I'll shoot you." she told him, and knowing that she meant what she said, he stopped irresolutely while she swept round him in a circle.

There was plenty of room to turn, and a second later she was running back down the road they had ascended. As 6he disappeared the man she had knocked down rose from the turf, and by the fluency of his language showed that he was not too badly injured. Ab a matter of fact, a broken arm allowed him full use of his tongue.

It was an exciting story they had to tell when they reached home—Gerald by then having almost recovered from the blow on his head—and a few hours later the miscreants were caught trying to make their escape on foot acrosß country. The very remoteness of the spot they had chosen for the robbery proved their undoing, owing to the distance they were from any swift means of transport. They had ample leisure later to ruminate on the manner in which they had bungled their crime.

Any sequel! Oh, yes! Violet's father, apparently impressed by the way Gerald had hung on to the necklace, handed over daughter to the young man's keeping with less reluctance than expected. It's an ill flood that brings nobody any good.

At its meeting yesterday the Auckland Electric Fower Board decided to donate the sum of five guineas to the Labour Day prize fund.