THE JUMPER

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20912, 18 September 1939, Page 13

THE JUMPER

By JOHN CREASEY

CHAPTER XXl. —Continued A Raid Essential Dawlish stared at the instrument for a few seconds, absolutely motionless. A dozen different thoughts were flashing through his mind, among I hem a desperate anxiety to make sure that Joan Morgan was safe from the fate which Mayhew threatened. Now that he was no longer talking to the crook, and he was looking at the situation with a more detached air, the Jumper knew, of course, to enter into any bargain with Mayhew was impossible. The place had to be raided — The thing was—could it be managed without raising an alarm? " Obviously it was impossible for him to know that until he had seen Seven Ed gw ay Close. If he went there immediately with the flying squad men, Mayhew would probably learn of it, and the Jumper was by no means certain that the crook would delay long in putting - his threat into operation. The Jumper stood up slowly, a plan forming in his mind. As he went out o>f his office and retraced his steps towards the Assistant Commissioner’s room, one .thought hammered at his mind. Mayhew was obviously very well informed, for he knew that Snide Mealy had been arrested and interrogated. “I don't know," said the Jumper to himself, “whether that’s quite true. Arrested, yes. He would naturally assume that all the- men at the cafe were taken to the nearest station. But how could he guess that Healy talked?” Actually the question was not one that needed a great deal of thought. Snide Hcaly's reputation throughout the criminal world was well-known, and in the past the little crook, one of the most unpleasant types of criminal that the Jumper had ever dealt with, had often sold information to the police. Snide Mealy, in fact, never minded who was behind bars, provided he was free. iMayhew would naturally assume that once the man was arrested he would pour out his story —and give away the address at Esher. The Jumper's lips twisted a little as he rapped on the door of the Assistant Commissioner’s room. Mayhew had made one mistake, but as it happened it had not been a particularly serious one. He had virtually told the police in what district he was staying, a fact which would have been of great importance had Snide Healy not talked. The crook had talked —and Mavhew’s words had merely confirmed that Snide had told the truth. “Come in." Davis's voice cut across the Jumper's thoughts. The Jumper turned the handle, and entered. Davis looked at him in surprise. “1 should have thought you’d been half way there by now." “Probably I would have been,” said the Jumper calmly, “but for this. It’s important, Sir William." . “Carry on," said Sir William. The Assistant ‘Commissioner, who was no mean judge of men, was confident that D-awlish had not only received important information, but that he had a’so' had a severe shock. Dawlish gave a resume of the conversation as nearly as he could. The Assistant Commissioner's face grew very grim as the story unfolded. At last Dawlish stopped, and for a few seconds there was an utter silence in the room.

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Sir William broke it. "And what is your reaction?” he asked. The Jumper’s reply was prompt. “While I was talking to Mayhew I was inclined to wonder whether 1 could delay the raid. But looking at it more calmly 1 know that it's impossible.” “Carry on with the raid, you mean?' “I can’t see any other course open to us,” said the Jumper. “It means in all probability the death of the girl,” said the Assistant Commissioner very slowly. “It's up to us to save her if we can,” said the Jumper. “If Mayhew had not been a candidate for the gallows I might have been inclined to ask you to let me delay the raid. But if he should get away there’s no telling what he'll do in the future." "That's true enough,” admitted the Assistant Commissioner. Actually he had never seriously contemplated the advisability of a delay in the raid, but he had been inclined to think that the Jumper was affected very oddly by this affair, and had the Special Agent's reaction been different, the Assistant Commissioner would probably have given him other work, leaving the task of getting to Esher to another officer. A Look Around As it was, he was satisfied Dawlisn would carry out the job as well, if not better than anyone else. “'Have you any ideas to meet the different circumstances?” he askid. ‘••Before I do raid the place,” said the Jumper quietly, “I'd like to have a look round. I suggest that I take the squad cars as far as Esher itself, and I locate Edgwav Close alone.’ - ’ "Don’t you think it’s possible that Mayhew is somewhere watching, and that the moment you leave here he’ll be warned?” “1 don’t know,” said the Jumper slowly. “That is definitely a possibility, and obviously he’s well informed. After all, he has been one of the big men in the East End for years, and he has probably got two or three hundred touts.” “Some of them watching outside now,” said Davis, dryly. “Yes I can see that point of view, Dawlish, but—” the Assistant Commissioner’s face hardened—“we must get Mayhew, dead or alive.” The Jumper’s eyes were very hard as he nodded. “I’ll iget him, sir,” he said. “I’m sure you will,” said the Assistant Commissioner, and he nodded to show that the interview was at an end. The Jumper reached the door, but before he touched the handle it turned, and a moment later he saw Crabber standing outside. The Chief Inspector’s expression altered when he saw who it was with the Assistant Commissioner. “•Hallo, Dawlish, you’re looking a bit of a mess.” “I feel it,” said Dawlish grimly. “Any developments?” asked Crabber, who was obviously worried, or he would not have asked these questions at the threshold o-f the Assistant Commissioner's room. “I’ll tell you of them,” said Davis quietly. “You carry on, Dawlish. I was hoping you would come, Crabber —"the door colsed behind Dawlish, who h-ad got half way along the passage before he remembered the outrageous suggestion that Crabber had made just after the news of the girl's disappearance had been received. He wondered, with his cheeks burning, whether Crabber was going to regale Davis with the same absurd theory, but he told himself calmly that the Assistant Commissioner would certainly not take any serious notice. The thought that Joan Morgan could, in any way, be connected with Mayhew s series of crimes, was absurd.

But it was not sufficiently absurd for Dawlish to be able to put it com- | pletely out of his mind. There was I just a vague possibility that Crabber ! had somehow hit the mark, although 1 he might call himself all kinds of fool for imagining it. But there it was. It did not ease the situation; in fact, it made it more complicated than ever it was before, but at least he was still in command, and Crabber was not likely to be sent to Esher after him. Apart from determining to have a look at Edgway Close before he ordered the flying squad men to attack, the Jumper had no fixed idea in his mind. 'He told himself that in the past the need for prompt action had always found him prepared with a plan, and there was, in fact, every chance of his finding some kind of solution of the problem on the spur of the moment, even if he spent too long trying to puzzle one out. It was difficult for him to keep his ihoughts off the subject, as the flying .-.quad cars raced towards Esher. A dozen different possibilities passed through his mind, but most of the ideas were absurd, although one thing was reasonably sure. He would prospect the situation himself before sending the flying squad men, and, if necessary, would break in on his own, trying to hold off any decisive action of Mayhew’s part until the flying squad men came to his assistance. The only really strong weapon that he had was bluff. But Mayhew was not a man likely to fall for it. Certainly the Jumper's thoughts \ver,c very black as they went through Kingston, and then took the Esher road. Jn a few moments now he would be in sight of Edgway Close, and he would have more of an idea what difficulties were likely to face him. A determination that Rick Mayhew should not escape from the consequences of his crimes was very firmly established in the Special Agent’s mind, although it was with mixed feelings that he went onwards. It was absurd, but it was also a fact, that neither Sir William Davis nor himself had given any thought to the fact that Brigham was playing in this game. CHAPTER XXII. Dead Men Can’t Talk Was it possible that Brigham was also at Edgway Close? The fact that the escaping Daimler had last been seen near Kingston certainly suggested that was the case. “It's time,” said the Jumper to himself, "that the position is cleared up." The trouble was—the occupants of the house might be dead, if he went in, and dead men could not talk The driver had obtained his directions, and the car started off again, with the Jumper still thinking along these lines. It, took over five minutes to reacli Edgway Close—and then everything else but the job was dismissed. The Jumper was of no mean intelligence; there had been many oc-

casions when his plans had been fruitful, but he was essentially a man of action, and the need for it now put him on his toes. The issues at stake were greater than he had ever faced before, and with a cold, grim determination, he set about his task. The driver had already had instructions to stop about a hundred yards away from Edgway Close itself, and the first flying squad car pulled up at last. Dawlish sent the second car about a hundred yards on the far side of the turning, so that if anyone endeavoured to come out of it they would be under the eyes of the police, no matter which direction they took. And then, by himself, and armed with two automatics, the Jumper went forward on what he was convinced was the last grim stage of the battle with Mayhew. Number Seven Edgway Close was, the Jumper realised quickly, an ideal spot for Mayhew’s purpose. It was a new house, rather larger than the average, and it was built right at the end of the Close which ran about a hundred yards off Hie road. Although Number Seven was at the far end, and there was no possibility of faking motor vehicles past It, fields spread out beyond the house, and anyone who wanted to get away quickly at night, would soon be lost jn the fields. Mayhew had certainly chosen his spot cunningly. To make the situation even more difficult, the Jumper saw that halffinished houses lined each side of the Close, and that the nearest occupied house was more than fifty yards away from Number Seven. It was now approaching four o'clock, and zero hour, as far as the Jumper could tell, was seven o'clock. Three hours to go—and practically anything could happen in that time. The Jumper's right hand in his pocket tightened round the cold butt of his automatic. He did not know whether lie would have any strong cause to use it, but he did not propose lo ho taken unawares. As he drew near, he saw that the house was larger than he first thought, and, what was more to the point, he saw that a definite track had been made across the fields from the rear of the house. The road was not actually laid in that direction, but if Mayhew proposed to get away by ear then he would get away very quickly. For the first time the Jumper wished he had another flying squad man with him, so that he could have sent a message

back to the local men Immediately, but ho was determined to go through with it for a while, at least, on his own. There were more chances of looking after the girl that way than by a general raid. Absolute silence filled the air—there was no sound of any kind. For some, reason the workmen were not engaged on the buildings—the Jumper learned later that the contractor had gone bankrupt, and consequently work had been suspended, to make Mayhew’s task even easier—and somehow there was an air of dilapidation and neglect about the whole estate. Hoodwinked? The garden to Number Seven was in good trim, however, and no one would have suspected that it harboured one of the worst criminals that Hie police of London bad fought for many years. The fact that Dawlish knew Mayhew was here gave him a queer, cold feeling at the loot of hi 6 stomach. And then he stopped short. Supposing he had been hoodwinked ! (To Be GontinuedJ