THE HOUSE IN THE WAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22260, 7 November 1935, Page 22

THE HOUSE IN THE WAY

(COPYRIGHT)

By COLIN HOPE Author of the " Phantom Killer"

* CHAPTER V. —(Continued)-. " He must have been outside these grounds for a long time last night. There are marks where tho dog has run up and down close to the hedge, and his footmarks outside. Harry says he was out of his room at The Whip before three o'clock this morning." " Dicky seems to have hit on tho idea," Singster said. "We have got to get him away from here —up to London for preference —and then he must disappear. Hasn't he a niece he looks after! 1 She lives in London, I believe, and if anything happened to her -Mr. Chichester would be obliged to go up to investigate. Then wo can safely leave the rest to Chick. Eh?" " You can." Churchill never wasted words. The others fell in with this idea, and they settled down to arrange details. They were a very efficient gang and any job they set their hands to was done in a thoroughly workmanlike manner. Each man had his own particular place in the organisation and had been recruited very carefully by Singster. Sometimes tho leader wondered if ho had made a mistake in his selection of Chick Churchill, one of the latest recruits to the organisation. Chick was tho strong man—the killer. He took the place of one who had blundered and paid the penalty. A suitable man for tho job had been hard to find. Criminals are seldom murderers from choice, nor are murderers usually criminals in tho ordinary sense of tho word. Thus, when Singster's eye had rested on Churchill, he had hailed him as the ideal man for the job. The gang did not indulge in murder, but there were times when the safety of some member of the gang or of all of them depended upon tho speedy removal of somebody who knew too much or who had the habit of talking too carelessly, and it was then that Chick Churchill was indispensable. Unfortunately, Chick was not content to do as he was told. He was inclined to ignore instructions and work to his own plans. Moreover, on more than one occasion ho had given orders—even to Singster himself. What is more, Singster had obeyed. The leader was worried, even alarmed. Chick was developing into a rival for leadership and Singster knew that if it came to a test the gunman would win. The conference was on the point of breaking up w'hen a newcomer arrived. It was Harry, tho barman from The Whip, and ho was obviously bursting with news. " He's gone to London," b e said, without preliminary. " 1 had a job to slip out to lot you know. I managed to find an excuse, but £ must hurry back or else the 'old man' will get crusty; I shall have to be careful, he seems to be a bit suspicious already." " Perhaps somebody has been talking," George Goudy put in. "Chichester was watching you when we were playing cards last night. We have got him fuessing there. We all know him, but e doesn't know any of us." "He knows me well enough. I was his brother's valet for three years." Briggs was the speaker. " 1 shall have to keep well out of his way, or he might tumble to tho whole business." He must know something," Singster said, "or he wouldn't be down here; and anybody, who knows something knows too much." Chick had been silent., At last he interpolated: "We seem to be losing sight of the fact that Harry brought us news Are we to understand that the man Chichester has gone to London? If so, toll us all you know about it." Singster winced, but said nothing. Chick was again taking charge of things. He would have to give this danger serious consideration. Even a killer could be killed. Harry told his story. Chichester had returned from his morning walk and had received a telegram at about midday, and during the afternoon had set out to catch a train from Westbury. He had left word that he was not likely to return that night, but would probably bo back at The Whip in time for lunch the following day. Singster was determined to take the initiative from Chick this time. If he was not very careful the rest of the gang would soon notice that ho was being forced into second place. "If he has gone to London ho has probably gone to visit that niece of his. I will get somebody to pick him up at Victoria and we shall soon know where she lives. Mr Chichester is being helpful."

Without delay, Singster went to the telephone and was soon talking to someone who answered all his instructions with a laconic " O.K. Guv'nor." Had Chichester listened to the conversation he would not have realised that this unknown individual was - being given a description of him and being instructed to report fully on his movements and the people he met from tho time he arrived at the railway station, for Singster was not fool enough to speak openly over a telephone. Even if Chichester had known all about the conversation he would not have been unduly worried, for he had no intention of going to London that day. The telegram was merely part of the ruse to throw dust in tho eyes of Harry and tho rest of the garig. When the barman hastened to tell the others of Guy's departure for London he had done just as it was intended he should do. CHAPTER VI. A DESPKBATE ENTERPRISE Chichester certainly took the train from Westbury, but only travelled as far as Three Bridges before leaving it. There he was ablo to buy certain things he needed for his night's work, and then lie sought obscurity while waiting for nightfall. Part of the time ho spent in a quiet tea shop writing a letter which evidently caused him to think deeply and which also at times gave him some amusement. Later ho again entrained, this timo taking a ticket to the station next to Westbury. Ho took great care to ensure that he was not seen by any of his enemies when he left the little station, and when he reached the shelter of the country lanes he waited a full hour to see if he was being followed. He examined tho packages he had brought with him from Thrco Bridges and after he had satisfied himself that everything was as it should bo, he settled down for a last smoke before embarking on his night's adventure. By tho timo ho had passed the outskirts of Westbury and approached The Wychetg, it was noarly midnight. A light was showing, in ono of the lower rooms and from the hedce which surrounded the house and 'grounds, Guv could seo that there was a hole through tho badly-fitted Venetian blind which would enable him to view tho room and its occupants if ho could get close enough. It seemed that tho fates were on It is sido.

The dog was his immediate concern. If it acted as it had done on the previous night, all would be well. If it did not, there would, he know, be considerable danger of detection. did not want to waste another night, for ho had planned well. He had laid a false trail to London, and he had also taken into account the

A GRIPPING STORY OF INTRIGUE, LOVE AND ADVENTURE

fact that as it probably was known that ho had been outside the grounds on the previous night, it would not bo expected that he would make another attempt so quickly. For a long time he crouched at the hedge side awaiting the dog. It seemed that it never would come, 1 and he reflected that if it had acted similarly As on tho previous occasion he would havo been on tho other side of tljo hedge before lie found it—and there would have been trouble. At last Guy heard the unmistakable sniff. Feet padded toward him, and there was a crackling of dry twigs. He whistled softly to attract the animal and immediately it was opposite to where he crouched he threw over an object which fell with a plop right in •front of the dog's nose. True to its instinct, the animal sniffed the strango article. Guy had anticipated that sniff. Things were working out exactly as he had planned. The vapour which the dog had inhaled when it smelt the pad was not sufficient to harm it, but it was enough to daze it and slow up its action. Taking advantage of this, Guy scrambled over the hedge and pressed the pad against the animal's nostrils. A few moments later he straightened and allowed the dog's unconscious form to sink to tho ground. With a piece of white paper he marked tho spot where he had entered tho grounds. It was the lowest spot in tho liedge and he wanted to make a clean get-away should the necessity for haste arise. He wasted no time in crossing to tho house. Ho was very anxious to see into that lighted room, and even more anxious to hear some of tho conversation that was going on in there. He had to be content with what he saw. Although he could tell by their manner tbat the men were discussing something important, not a sound reached him outside the window. With the exception of the barman—who was quite probably examining his belongings at Tho Whip—all the men were in the room. Three of them Guy had seen before. Chick Churchill was a stranger to him, and as he studied the killer's hard, cruel face, Guy reallised that he was probably the most dangerous of his opponents. The man Briggs sat with his "back to the window and Chichester racked his brains in an endeavour to recollect where he had seen him before. Ho knew that the head was that belonging to someone he had known very well indeed—yet he could not decide who the man was. Tho fact that ho could see, yet not hear, angered him. His journey had not been entirely in vain, for he had been able to identify the gang he had to fight, but he was dissatisfied. He wanted to hear something of their plans; ho was fighting entirely in the dark. That Netta and Frank had some place in their scheme, he had no doubt, for three of the men were those who had made up the card party at The Whip. He decided at last that as he had got so far, he would try to make a really good job of his night's work. If possible he would get into the house and learn something more. He knew that he was contemplating taking a chance with desperate men. If he was caught it would go hard with him and ho would be lucky to escape with his life. He crept cautiously round the house, trying windows and doors, but he was not a skilled house-breaker, and was forced to give up all idea of getting in on tho ground floor. He turned his eyes aloft, and at the back of the house he saw what in the dim light appoared to be an open window. Although not a house-breaker, he was a first-class athlete, and without fear. A drain pipe ran within a few feejt of the window and as soon as he found that tho pipe would bear his weight, he started to climb hand-over-hand. There was no foothold, and by the time he had made about half the journey his arms ached horribly. Only his grim determination to succeed kept him going, climbing slowly, laboriously, painfully. He was almost with reach of his objective when his handhold slipped and for a terrible second it seemed that ho must fall —nearly thirty feet on to the hard gravel path. Ho grabbed wildly and managed to clutch a slight protuberance on the wall. An agonising pain told him that he had all but wrenched off a fingernail, and it was strange that as he felt tho warm blood pouring from the wound he could smile at the thought of the gang's perturbation when they found tho evidence of his visit on the following morning. At last he was level with the window, but even then his task was not done. The pipe was some distance from the window-sill and there was nothing to help him to cross tho gap. He gauged tho distance and then began to swing himself preparatory to making a jump to the window-sill. He judged his jump well and reached his objective with no more harm than a severe jolt as he took the weight of his body on his arms He scrambled on to the sill and cautiously opened the window. , Dropping noiselessly into the room he stood listening#for some minutes. Apparently his entry into tho had been unobserved: this certainly was his lucky evening. Guy knew that it would be unwise to play his luck too far. Time was very important, for the dog was likely to recover from the effect of the drug before tho night was over, and tho conference downstairs might break up at any minute. Ho had no intention of returning by the way ho had come, and his first act on reaching the ground floor was to unlock the front and back doors so that his ways of retreat were open. The he crept to the door under which showed a pencil of light, and looked through the keyhole. Tho man Briggs was facing the door and Guy drew a breath of surprise as soon as ho saw his faco and recognised him. No wonder the man's back and hoad had seemed familiar. Briggs had beon his brother's valet. This discovery helped Guy to understand much that had, puzzled him since he had set out to break up Singster's gang. Singster was talking when Chichester reached the door. "This is a rather important job," ho said. "It might turn out to be the biggest thing we have tackled and if all goes well, it ought to put us on easy street for a long while. "The thing is all ready, it is to be demonstrated next week to some of the top men in the business—and if it is demonstrated it will be taken up at once. It is good, in fact it is absolutely marvellous, the thing that everybody connected with petrol engines has been waiting for since tho first motor-car was built. "And what is more," he went on impressively, "I have a customer waiting for it. As soon as it is handed over l can draw twenty thousand pounds that has already been provisionally placed to our credit." "Can't wo draw on it nowP" one of the n\pn interrupted. "For me there's nothing like getting your on some of tho money. I never feel safe until it is in my pocket.' I don't like this 'provisional' business." Thore was general laughter at this sally, but Singster looked severe. Here was a chance to put Chick Churchill in his place. -Iv (To b® continued cftily)