THE RAVEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22475, 20 July 1936, Page 17

THE RAVEN

By LIONEL HAMILTON

, CHAPTER XlV.—(Continued) Then Hutchings, who was walking round the house to make sure that every man was waiting, in a position of vantage, ready to give warning if anyone approached, went very cold. Was it possible that The Raven, realising that the end of his run was near, had deliberately gone away, using the StUtz affair as an excuse? Had he realised that the police would locate The Towers, and throw a net round the building from which there was no escape? Hutchings swore beneath his breath. The idea was' a typical one for The Raven. The man cared nothing, provided he was safe himself. The way in which he had ordered the killing of Samuel Devine had proved that. And such insistence as he had shown on making the journey to the Stutz mansion was, on the surface of things, insane. The. American went into the house. Sadie was waiting for him in the hall. He needed only a glance at her face to realise that she was wondering the 6ame thing. "Think he's ratted on us?" she demanded. Hutchings shrugged his shoulders. " It's possible," he said. " Remember there are only two people who know his real name. I could give a description, but we might never have seen him as he is. His disguises have been " "Perfect," snapped the girl. "Dat'a what I've been thinking. We*d better scram, Hutch." The man nodded. " What about the men?" he said, half to himself.. Sadie's lips screwed up viciously. "Aw, shucks! The Raven didn't worry about them, did he. They can draw te fire, while we flit." Hutchings nodded again. Together tliey moved from tho hall to the garage at the rear of the big house. Iwo men, waiting by windows and using field-glasses, nodded and muttered a commonplace. A third man, near the garage, looked at him questioningly. Hutchings' hand slipped unostentatiously to his pocket. This was one of The Raven's men — "Seen anything?" tho American demanded. " Not a thing," he said. " Seems to like a false alarm. I He stopped, staring~at the gun which had leapt to Hutchings' right hand. " What the " he began. And then he groaned, and his face was twisted. Sadie, creeping behind him, had brought tho butt of a revolver on his head. " That'll keep him quiet," snapped "iGigiri. " Now " J here were two other cars in the Parage, a Packard and a Daimler. Hutchings went to the American car. He had hardly touched the handle of the door when, clear above the nearsilence of tho place, came tho hoot of 81l owl. Once— t\v ire—lll fi ce It was tiio warning signal. Ono of the watchers had seen tho oncoming polity cars! Hutchings swore beneath his breath. Jhe girl shrugged her slim shoulders. "Better fight it' out," sho said. No chance of getting through,

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The man nodded. The chance of getting away from The Towers in the Packard was small —unless the police were engaged fiercely at the house itself. The man whom Sadie had knocked out was groaning. " Leave him," snapped Hutchings. " He'll find plenty to do when he wakes up." They hurried into the house. As they reached the hall the door opened and one of the scouts came in. He took the situation coolly enough. " Three car-loads of them," he said. " I saw them crossing the bridge." Hutchings nodded. " You know what it means?" he said. " Yes." The man shrugged his shoulders. " We'll have to fight it out, Boss. Pity The Haven ain't here." " Why?" Hutchings snapped the question out. " Maybe he'd find a way of dodging 'em," said the other. " And maybe he wouldn't," muttered Hutchings. He made a brief tour of the house. There wero six men, all stationed advantageously, all realising that it was a fight to the end. The Raven was a murderer —his associates were killers. They would have no mercy from the law —but they could cheat the law. " Let them get close," Hutchings ordered. " And shoot to kill. Got that?" All of the men nodded. They seemed nonchalant, at ease. Hutchings thought, grimly, that there was nothing to choose between the English gangster and the American. Then, with the girl at his side, he went into the library. Through the window he could see the sweeping grounds of The Towers —and on the far edge of the big lawn, bordered by a shrubbery which in turn was bordered by high tree 3, ho could see half a dozen men, moving quickly away from two cars which were drawn up. The police began their approach. Slowly, taking advantage of every piece of cover, the men came on. They expected resistance —and they wanted, if possible, to catch The Raven by surprise. They had no idea of the holocaust to which they were heading. They had no knowledge of the machine-gun, close to the window of tho library. They came on —

CHAPTER XV. ATTACK " Split up into . twos," ordered Fowler, " and take every bit of cover you can. They might give in easily, but they will probably fight for it." " We haven't seen anything," muttered Trentham. " No. That's what's worrying me." " Wliat are the locals doing?" asked Benson. " Fifty of them havo thrown a cordon round tho place," said Fowler. " But I hope we won't have to need them. They're not all armed. Anyhow—" , Ho broke olf. With Benson on his right and Trentham on his left, separated from each other by about two yards, he went on. His revolver was in his pocket —and his hand gripped it. All three men realised what might happen."

" We'll take the front," said Fowler. " What's that room on the right, Trentham?" " The library," said Roger. He put a pair of field-glasses to his eyes and stared across the lawn. " The American's in there," he muttered. " I saw him walk across the room." Fowler said nothing. Benson, for once, was not smiling nor chuckling. There was grimness in the air. They broke the edge of the trees, and, crept through the shrubbery. It would be touch and go, now— Suddenly the silence of the night was split bv a high-pitched scream from the right. Trentham looked round. He saw the stab of flame from an automatic —once —twice. " They're shooting," he muttered. A moment later Benson broke cover. Almost at the same time flame stabbed from tho library window. Benson winced as a bullet went through his arm. . " Get back," snapped Fowler. "Ihis will be a massacre!" As he spoke, there came another cry of agony from the left. A policeman's gun spoke—without a silencer. The report was the signal for a sudden, .sharp burst of firing from tho ring of police. Windows splintered and broke in The Towers. Somewhere ahead a man's curses were profaning the night. Fowler drew his whistle from his pocket and blew two short blasts. It was the pre-arranged signal to take cover. Unseen, the police drew away from the danger of those spitting automatics. Jt was Trentham who spoke next. " Use one of tho cars," ho said. " We can keep low inside it —and it would get us to tho front door." fowler grunted. Benson, not badly wounded, nodded. " Who'll drive?" ho demanded. " It's certain death," muttered Fowler. " There's a chance of getting away with it," said Trentham, grimly. " I've got to get inside that house, Fowler. Damn it, the girl—" " You mean you'll drive?" asked Benson. Trentham nodded, and turned toward the waiting cars. " I'll take back all I said," muttered the Inspector. "Shall I get round for volunteers, Chief?" " Yes," said Fowler. In less than five minutes three members of the attacking party were crowding into the rear of the police car. Benson took a truncheon and smashed the glass from the windscreen and the •windows. Trentham grunted his approval. The danger from broken glass was averted. " Jt's a sliding seat," said Benson. You can get pretty low in it. Trentham, I'll sit next to you." (To bo continued daily)