“ANNOUNCER’S HOLIDAY”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 January 1941, Page 10

“ANNOUNCER’S HOLIDAY”

I ---wtt mr , ■ Tr~ -i w ■ 11-r- - -1.1 II r- - -- - u. v I PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT. COPYRIGHT.

By

VAL GIELGUD.

| (Author of “Africa Flight." “Outpost in China," etc.)

CHAPTER XXIV. (Continued). "The matter must take place in full : daylight in the streets of the capital of ■ the British Empire, and under the eyes ! of their vaunted police." he said quietly. "Your places have been booked. ■ They arc most advantageously situated I—at'Temple Bar. where the procession I halts for a few moments. I regret the i expense — no less than twenty-live ! guineas apiece. Still. I don t really ! grudge the money.'' ' ' "Two things only." said the man ■ called Adolf. "There are forty-eight ; hours to go between now and the time of this procession of yours. V hat do ’ we do till then?" "I run you all up stream some miles: put you ashore one by one: and you walk into London — a proceeding against which I believe there to be no law—and follow your own devices as individuals until you meet with your tickets in the stand. Here arc the tickets." He held them out to Adolf, who took them and nodded. "But say." protested Franklin, "where do we sleep and eat?" ‘Anywhere inconspicuous." said Casimir. "Must you use five-dollar words'. 1 " grumbled the American. "You've all got papers—of sorts, which should see you clear if you get i into trouble." Casimir went on. “It’s l understood that any man who docs get into trouble, stays in it with his mouth shut.” "D'you take us for squcaleis?" muttered Franklin. "The second thing,” said Adolf, dis- ■ regarding the American, "is how to! make certain of the business.” j ‘What do you propose to use?" asked i Casimir brusquely. "We are individualist in our tastes," replied .Adolf, and smiled for the first time. “For myself I prefer a rifle. Franklin uses the sub-machine-gun.

Benito and Josef prefer the old-fashion-ed pistol.” ; ‘A gat takes up no room." explained i Benito unnecessarily. "The armoury was moved here some days ago.’’ said Casimir. "I regret that you should have to go from here with weapons on you. but the Soho place had to be cleared.” “You mean—the police are after us already?" demanded Josef. "No. I mean that I took sensible precautions against just that. As for making certain—you gentlemen are the experts surely?" The four professional killers exchanged giances. ".A stink-bomb below the stand, with a little tear gas as an added luxury, to cause confusion and draw the attention of the police, and troops lining the street, would do nicely," said Adolf. ■Thank God I’m warm again at last! Then Franklin looses of!' a belt. If he fails, the rest of us run in and do the trick at close range. 1 don't think there's a loophole there." Casimir Konski blinked twice. "You seem remarkably thorough," he i said al last. ’ "We know our business." said i Adolf. i "And mind it, J hope. Is there any- ! thing more we need discuss? I should * like to be getting back to the boat—and Luke here would seem to have caught i a cold already." • Luke Barnes cleared his throat nois- ; ily, "Cold?" he observed. "Rotten ! adenoids —that's what I've got—and ! always have had since I was a child." ! Benito and Josef stared with undis- : guised bewilderment at this remark- | ably typical specimen of the genus Englishman, who was so obviously more interested in an apple than in conspiracy, so much more wrapped up •n his own health than in anything else in the world. But Adolf fur all dial hi' was a sworn foe to dictators in no matter what i country or uniform—was by birth and I training a Prussian. He turned sharply • it Casimir Konski and his heels clicked smartly together. We are at your service.” he said. They moved towards the door. "Say." burst out Franklin suddenly. • what do we do about that 'plane out there?" "Nothing." said Casimir, who was) rummaging in what looked rather like) a large size playbox, and laying on the floor objects of various sizes that were! heavy and rang metallically Ymi do! not propose to make further use of the , plane, do mu' ! am not coming back 1 here I assure ymi. It will give the i police sumeifimg else to waste their ! (mu’ and exercise their brains over." "But suppose we need it to make tiur/ getaway"" Adolf looked Franklin very straight! in the eyes, "Members of the Orgasm-) ation, whether they succeed or fail, die ■ n service always." hv said quietly.! It r. Rule No 1 The Battle Squad of 1 the Ru* ■ uau Terrorist., invented it in 190.7 II was the secret of their triumph.-,. Once watch . ver Vour shotil- ' d-.-r for ;.’»ur line of retreat and pi>uf!; ‘ There ;;<>e< your <-■{•]»• ’itunity <>K" growled Franklin, moistening i 1 his lips, ' cut the sermon, won't you lie turned ii.-s attention to the! weapons which Casimir was distributing. while Benito f* nd led a heavy auto- ' malic with £«• affection of faimliaiits Luke Bam- !hmg a j.a/.ful ./ hissing over the dying ti:a- and scatter- !' ed (he ember l with his heavy !>■ ■ ' ( murnr !•*■;•.cd the ?;>*•'.■.ry -.r L.-miid , him. a th ;;gn he were a <■.>:< !. ; ; m meh’.lder la;; ( r;g the d-.'f f’-r a wali, and the wh-de par’y wen: jy.• . trie drizzle .and tramp- d iiev. : , 1 1 »- The boat was where .: had been k-ft ' I he tWO menu'l l >if the ]<■'“ i.board sat tumefied m the bows. smok. \ jiD' tknr.jj c;re’.'.»■ v/;U; ti;’*icullv, ' claimed Luk.- Barm.” , and m \

I headed into mid-stream and circled I westward bound. Casimir Kenski 1 ; looked at his watch, made a mental f i calculation, and lighted a fresh cigar, j s I CHAPTER XXV. . i It was curious, and may be termed! . ■ faintly ironic, that the monkey-wrench I ] I which was flung into the words of Cast-1 ’ ' . 'j i i mir’s elaborate scheme should have! ? : been flung by a woman—and that! H woman his own daughter—curious, be-i ,- ! cause Cisimir had known many women i j in his life and apart from loving them I i had understood all of them but one. j > ! But that one exception had been 1 > ■ Lucia's mother. In his easy general-I , ■ isation that in the outcome of the! I really important things of life women ; ! were unimportant, Casimir was right. > ;He was wrong in including Lucia in J that generalisation; in accepting the .! obvious meaning of the note she had . i left addressed to him in her bedroom. ■ ! He assumed that it meant precisely ■ i what it said: that she had simply bolt;ed and left him. Lucia had left him—! but she had not. bolted. She heard him J j call out her name when he left the; ! secret room. She heard him run up the ■stairs to her room. She was in the! • simplest conceivable hiding place, the! ■bathroom—with the door bolted, and: her ear against the panel. And Casimir! j was still busy with his preliminaries to, (evacuation in the cellar, when Lucia j j snapped back the gas switch and tug- ! ged open the door into the secret room ' with moist palms and a very white tace. The tableau .that mot here eyes was singular and rather horrible. Greta ( ; Mahler had collapsed on the sofa, and I ! lay there sprawled in a pathetically | crumpled heap. Geoffrey kneeled be-|: I side her, a dreadful expression of apa- | thetic horror on his face, with Charles Bland beside him. one hand on his shoulder. They were quite still, the girl's eyes already glazing, the man breathing hoarsely as though violently s Hacked by asthma, but Xavier was on

. all fours crouched against the far wal of the room. There was foam on hii I lips. He had ripped his collar open and dragged off his coat. He erouchec , like some beast at bay, his feature; t "Rely distorted, making horrible anima j r oises at the back of his throat, anc , tearing at the padded wall with crooked fingers and splintering nails. Wher s Lucia dragged the door open, he twisted his head over his shoulder to- . wards her and spat . . Lucia screamed. Charles Bland was . the first to pull himself together and get a grip on the situation. He dragged . Geoffrey to his feet, and shook him violently. "Get Greta out!' he croaked i T"s all right, man —can't you see?" > Geoffrey did see. i But he found it almost harder to 1 realise that he was going to live after all. than it had been to adapt himself ! to immediate death. He could never . tell afterwards how he managed to ■ sling Greta's body across his shoulder ;nd stagger with her across that accursed threshold. None the loss it was done. He laid the girl across what had • I eon Casimir Konski's writing table, and whipped round on Lucia's second icream to see Xaxier—his mind, ordinarily ill-balanced, now altogether disordered by rage and claustrophobia—l.url himself at Charles Bland's throat. What followed had much of the ghastly inconsequence and apparent unicality of nightmare. Charles staggered back and went down. Xavier iprawled on top of him. grunting bestially. clawing with his hands. Geoffrey lushed in and tried desperately to drag him clear. But the mad prince seemed to have the strength of a gorilla, while Geoffrey's muscles seemed to have turned to the consistency of blanc mange. Charles’s eyeballs were rolling t.p, his lips opening helplessly, as Xavier's fingers lightened, and his thumbs drove implacably against the ridi.'S of his windpipe. Even at that | moment Geoffrey had a twinge of eon- > science that one should not hit a man ! from behind. But Lucia screamed out :•( him, and in real terror for Charles's Ife lie stooped, snatched up Xavier's stick from where it lay on the floor, mid brought it down across the back of 1 is head. Xavier let go, For the moment it teemed that the shock of the blow had ' 1 tonquered his mania, for he staggered, to his feel and stood swaying, one hand ; m his head. But in another instant he | struck out. this time al Geoffrey, and I •'losetl with him in a desjierate wrestle ;or possess!--n of the stick. This time there was just the two of them, for Charles lay where he had fallen, and Lueia Lad turned to Greta who was, moaning anti twitching on the writing desk as conseiou.'iiess returned to her ; So she did not sec the handle ->f the; stick twist between the hands of th--lighting men; did not see the thin vicious blade slide out; did not see’ Xavier's foul slip. Geoffrey's list -I'rike clean to Im-; jaw. and the prince drop tl’v sword to the flour one ■l'eonti before he fell himself, impaling himself; ; iivatly as any R.>mau St-nc m th< he or of ili-.a-ter and defeat When Lucia, havii:;:; handt-d Gi’-'.ii i cr smeilin;: •ait’- 'uimed nornd. Xavier ■■■:. motit nil- on in face The i m' f I!..- '.worti jutted out a few inches i el. v. ins k-ft Ci-ulder blade. He was quite dead She and (h - t’r-.-y dragged Clunk:■s ■ behind them. H arm ' ‘•be a h - <; d’~ • ak<- ' iia: n't (kisimn ;;m:e 1v ’ g: I’ : "•- af‘ i ■ s i * t a at>. i 'i eUVcl' • >' 'i» (i m! J.W slh’l i g ' fr -M ‘.'•’i'tcfl ’ I clnUl’h’ V< G 1 : And I Uk'E:’ y- :U ‘.he ‘■■' ’ . - . ■ ' . i I '' . ; ■ J . I ’. I fi «. .. . ‘ L ;i , , „ - J Ji v i> U C Vi» < i «i- m*■ ’ .