Show AAA One Wonderful t Week t w By 0 So 0 I W NU Service Copyright by Merrill Bobbs-Merrill Co vw rv CHAPTER Continued VII VII Continued Il i 11 Ill I- I II let l I et the 1 I now no luJe It de that behind him himen were Wert n 1 u Ii Bluer Ind Indan nl nn an unknown no n Schultz s urged him Ill I'll Imps en c noUa no now Ua Ilaw Hawkins kins hid centred i and pistol In hind was us 0 o cr er the roots Sifter after him glut Harold did not ant not saint t to tn encounter II n 1 ng tin tin-If lf an in accidental kick Ich in the stomach could mat mal e a him as re re as us he lind hied displaced him himself self j a cr crick ich on the he lie nl ul from n a club chub wielded with ItI all the strength th of Harolds q i right would rouse him to heights which Harold rold did not cure care to think about He le e continued to mike make his hie nay ay along the utter utter An And ns as dl did so sos soa 0 s 1 change e time lIme oer o his feelings Perhaps wet et warn warm irid Ind riffling his lils hair had something some something thin thing to do dolth In with It pt pl it Suns nas just a fuller appreciation of the fact that the blow he lie had just dealt out to ikins ii-ikins was wis nn an ample repa repayment e en c en for the lie enormous cruelties of that or on ch ter charac-ter ter and this seems the rno most t e c lIar old olds s misfortune had merd merely lit di dil h en him light lIht headed p er It was w Harolds s spirits rose and rose At the lie se hou house just jut as ns he hud bud fright right was wog a awaiting him But chance hid had In this Ills case that the sky skylight 1 tight light should hould be hl high h up the roof since close clo e he beside the ridge and fir far out of reach of ins in a one In the lie Jutter gutter nine nine ome along whispered light bright fiercely through the darkness You 11 iI ha base haic e to climb That wig 1 as ol lous and din not lIe He started to on his Ills hinds hands and knees up the steep slope of the roof Seem Seemingly his Ills light lIht he mode hIm cureless careless as ns he cure cline nearly within reach r arli of the lie sh lI sk ht he reached for It t off oT handedly ind missed It Ho fie slid clId down n o n the lie roof n ln Spread out nut face do n do on the sInh slate he felt himself slip slippIng slipping slipping pIng gr don down n n Then his toe slipped lIpped off olT the last slate elate and landed In the gutter utter The gutter ereal ed ominously hut but held to together get gether her was w lit up tip genus gentl nil all standing spread pre on the roof He tie he begin began to climb up It t again this time he reached the lie sk sh and held on I 1 thought you inu ou were nere ert gone for sure then you ou blinking ln fool whis whispered 1 right Can nn an t you ou e er be careful Clearly Wrights Wright's nerves ner could not stand the strain of seeing fl flue e thousand pounds of hIs Ills 0 own n prop erts ert slipping to I Pi f D soh nil ou think I 1 slid It on purpose pur purI purpose I pose snapped II 1 rohl speaking up for himself elf for the lie first time In I rs f right in tit ide no reply He lie shift shifted shifted el ed his grip on the frame me neatly doubled up and pulle pulled feet feel foremost through the sh lIht light Into the attic attic- He ne hun liun by Ills his hands from the lie frame and then Ihen let leI himself drop heard the feet land on the fin no finer Ir r is es pien n en a jar jur I jurI All clew whispered Wright Come Collie along Harold in iii to 11 puss pass S his Ills les le s sInto Into the e and to n Induce the there re rest 1 of his hod hods to follow them them 11 right caught him ns as he lie dropped and the lie stood together In the pitch h dirk dark attic Then and not till tIll than U produced nn an dies trio trl torch and let 11 it up the lit littie littie littie tie room moat for a s tiny of tithe nut BUI hut Its 10 In v i w al almo almost mo most 1 ns fl corm is It had begun heun This i w iv I muttered right right lIe opened the lie door and then be to dei end the fright It hail wonder wonderfully wonderfully fully lie He hid had dp dpI dp I pd a l brilliant plan mill and hili li II id carried It through I with II h Put lut pith Ith nil all his nerve e and skill hUll hind made madeno no allowance nIlO for turning light IK III reed A As the they went ent ent do down don n the stairs to together gether that e every e ery step they took 1001 teas vins curr carrying him to another and perhaps perhaps or worse bond i rge e lie He realized that rUit 11 nIr airs promise about genii treatment bv h the I 1 might lie be n ns as u doable ns as the prom 1 I-i I hI he hail made to Bitter lie Be- lie s II 11 wits sick Ick of the is hole e All considered would much prefer not to toI I hp IrNI up to the he Frank nl They hail dei ell del descend l d four of stairs At the bend of the he next neet rl l t once IKC e more morp ell a n little Ines frint hl his torch tor h to 10 light lIht up tit till it Ir p pIth nth Ha In once tak n in III the lie Ill of the land had he pushed hed on 1111 dawn I n the stairs n yard In rout of Harold lIe He had lind extended et ee tended Ills his foot fOOl In le descend dp one I stair but hut his Ills stride took him hini till 1111 tudie uhe and 1111 ants nh ended hen us hen lie he rein hed tin bottom In n II senseless lump r H II n Id light II lit Ind bs 11 l i the memory of the of Rawlins threw v out his II us ered bir h Ir of nf lead anti struck Ili nil all his strength th on 1111 the h hit buk Il k h of ills his head Just a as 1111 kin hold I n yea CI ye tt It hart been n a ell ln on nn the part of 11 but bill It H Is the slight mis which upset the sound n sl Sit 1 pi ph iris ins stood tense nt at the flue head of flip et cl listening nil all hl his Ichill 1111 Ir suddenly shredded d him lie He heard no 1 11 V from nand lInel not es e en cn a groin 1 I er er still cull Then Theil the perfectly r Inh fell from frum his Ills rasp p and for of nf It II reaching the floor tutu lie Ho did not bother to pick up the lie club he lie hea a w as too busy wondering hat is list to do ilo dolp He lp would not go o n tin and out of the front door as ss V hal hail had In iii tended The I 1 he Frankfurters would know of ot the plan pl and they he be us n for huh him there Or he might I h I walk straight Into the firms arms I wf of some of or Bauer henchmen AndIn Anti And AndIn In any nio case ense he lie Mould maid hate hn e to I Ih h b frights rUit s Ill form form forin and he could not benr bear the thought lit of list fright right might ml lit be dead an nn I 1 coul could not go on p 1st his hb 11 body hody In ti th it pitchy darkness Be fie- Besides sides might be neither nor stunned He Ile e might Wright jut just he walt waiting In Ills li h Binds ind of If crouched on the landing for ilir Harold old to come conic within ren reach ll No Ao o li-ir li Harold old could not go on down donn do the stairs And as us certainly he could not go goback goback but back through the lie sl I slight There There as ass no noMI MI n say u of escape from the roof and and ma be Schultz and Ilse Hankins II 1 kins were en I up Sup there by bv now I old had to find some seine middle course A At this Ills his back Where here here he lie stood nt at atthe the top of the flight of stairs stair w s wasa u a big frosted fretted window and through It Harold could just see the lights of the houses hou es In hr the t nest street sheet lie fumbled for lit catch and threw thre open the window Indo It opened onto onlo n fI lind ImrI I and of mini iture and Ie he ining out could see fifteen feet below him the e ahoe aho e a sin ill III mews which began bean be two t houses a away an ay ani and ran past the house housend and nd for ards farther on To Harolds s punks panic stricken mInd this sins ns as the he ious ob 01 lous way of escape He Ue sought sou ht frantically In his thoughts ht for a s means of mini minimizing that fifteen foot drop The only thin thing at Sill all resembling a rope shish he lie could think of was hIs suspenders and he had ha no sooner lOnCe the lie idea than he put It into litO practice He Ue unbuttoned them and took tool them them off on extended e them to their ma maximum length lenth and tied tlell one end to the lowest est 10 est balcony h rill searching hack back In his mind for ague memories of how to tie a areef areef reef nef knot hnot Then he let et cr himself m user cr the balcony hung bv by his i I hinds h to the Hie lie rill rail tr his grip to his suspenders and slipped n I Ido do down don n these to the end I Only then swaging ng and rotating lit at the end of Ins Ills rope did liar I old regain reg any trice trace of sanity lIe fled I I remembered that In that list e dul ness he could not be at Sit alii all I sure that list the drop as was only fifteen feet With four feet of suspenders anti something e a e se en en feet fet of nt at the lie full stretch of his there might only be four feet bet between een s toes and the lends On the other hand the whole hole drop he twenty five fl feet flet decided not to mike m the drop But e en e en as ns he ho came to tills this con elusion es e cn en as ns lie hI decided e that th It might be better to return and foe face an nn Infuriated II l Ha 30 lIDS ins his I fUl fui ther tier course coue of action as w is b chance chane For Ills suspenders su suspend pend I ers tore torp through till it the lie junction of their inns arms and Harold rold fell fel to tile the leads It Its as s only a s four foot font drop after nil all I I I Harold rold tried Ired to rails his wits He Ile stole tole I Ito I to the Itle edge ede went down on hands ind 1 I nees and nn peered o 0 oser er 1 lucre here were ere ere se se cral open gars es esin In sl ht find and In them arlous shirt sheeted men were ere ere washing firs cars it H shrink back hoping he hall had hadnot hadnot 1 not I 1 een se seen scon n lIe He stole along niong the to the Ille I lie tn end peered oser mer o ern ain this tills time lime for safety's s 's n fi it on his stomach the fhe here suns v nc much more promising ln Bel Below 0 him there as a was another fifteen foot fool drop rop hut but that drop took 1001 him Into the road roads rondu s iv of or flip lip news s men while atel to hl his left the iv ills dh ell eu through a n n irrow entrance hats con t two 0 houses Into the street t relt The street streel I liberty I and e c snits l It I II H irold Sur Ir Irold old found himself lf S 1110 In des es hard again as ns he lie trl tried to wor work out how liow to ite the drop The solution of the lire fire fires pre s Itself at nt once nice p for nt al liar Har old s q ell o v ii suns n drainpipe to the ground Slims and n a awkwardly k 1 l he himself tOl tn toes s q first off olT tile the leads grabbed the I lie pipe lipe In the niche of time and half fell half slithered to the lie ground It only for to 10 n a hits bus situ anil lo bO homo home nt t lint Is ts how liow It ap pel nt at t first 11 nt sight t alien l 1 hen hell It dawned ned upon ouch him list h try tuna 1111 no his attire had reached n a degree of which hl ll could he be described ns ne tic He lie list had no collar or tie and his shirt Karl horl been torn open to Ild ad mil met tile the attentions of or Mr Ir IIII kins 1 he once neat and sirs s r I keable blue suit the lie hi 0 stripe was as as torn and there lillin a n huge hue triangular tear In one CIne knee and one or two t t 0 small ones here arid there In the cont coat both coat cont and tru trousers rs were rp daubed all oser OHr pith Ith the filth of dozens of square rOIls rods of roof lie was hatless and anil ani for the moment liode s HP lp felt fell I In III his hl side pock puI pockets ets and nud such Is the queer qUler nature of mankind he be t a uS as groat a n shock on finding that one I of hI Ills shoes suns ns as 88 e e eser eer er 1 Ins had har gh ghen giuca n him At some point In n his s that sli sho shag had escaped e tIle from from hula liln pocket and now forlorn and on roof or on lead or on halcon sonic some st e of his passage e But Hut he be could not hot wait nit to ruml nate o cr the point he hind had no notime notime time for re regrets n ns as It was ns ft as danger dangerous dangerous dangerous ous to han hang about where here at any be di III I 1 11 to him hini He lie le thrust his foot III into to his remaining slice shoe find anti passed ed ouInto out Into the street lie He tl meed furth furUse- furUse e- e ly Iy round to mal e a cure sure no enemy enem Suns fl noir ne and set off oT with Ith one font fout shod and the lie other In a s lIely holed sock soch for P toll It station 1 I BlUer ii s myrmidons m although the gone Jone ery sery ery i h s pockets bud en ii thing which Illch hid li id no heir Liu In on the matter of King hing s 5 lettus Harold s e moneIn monet mone In sll sil cr ter er and ami copper still In Ills his trousers pod poc ets of this lIar Harold ole oleS old was is S is sure for Ins his hinds us el cie e thrust into Inlo those thoe pockets In older to keep beep up lug Ins trousers trousers-hie he hn hall had no cu suspenders penders be It remembered So In this tills fashion II H I irold roll hobbled slung Iong to station scrambled onto a bus Jus and rushed rushell to the comfortable lark ness nes where here his foot would be in In n risible and his rags ras less It Il was In this tills fashion that I returned to tn I ell Ie less lew nt at ele eleen cn en o 0 clock clod ni nt nl ht after thirty sue Sl hours of unexpected une absence Nothing untoward occurred ell on orthe the bus but ns as he lie climbed stiffly do down don n the lie stairs st at Morley Park arh station seine Mime one saw S1 him Someone Some Someone Someone one turned to Ins his com coin panton and pointed him out Someone Sonic Some Someone one begun began to follow him alon along the quiet streets Harold quickened his steps the steps saps of his hig pursuer quickened III e eIse Ise But Hut rolling do down don n the lie rood road came crance for Harold A bull blue clod form farm emerged Into the lamplight hinds hands In belt bell and thit reassuring aspect of l self confidence which n so endears rs the he London policeman n to well ell be- be beha lia ed ha haled ed I on H II I irold s filter lter In inn steps i chained their lo lost t rhythm he smiled e on serenely post st the policeman fell rell ew was is-is now nets noless less than a quat ter of a mile swig awa The policeman eyed Harold curs cun ns as he pissed passed In n the lamp lamplight lamplight light In that Intensely respectable suburb It was as not usual to see young men with Ith scored scared faces with Ith torn clothes and without collars b and bi George l I yes yes one one shoe missing The policeman thought It might be as us well uvell to know a little littlemore littlemore more about Harold he turned and rolled along with Ith unhurried gilt gait keeping up easily e with Harold U s s frantic hut but stride The policeman saw w Harold reach the gate of cae Fell rell Ie less lew saw sass him enter boldly an and open the lie door with Ith a latchkey saw him puss pass In Inand inand Inand and heard the door shut behind hIm lie He decided that Harold mold must be a law hw abiding citizen of nc attire and turned sway away sa fled fieri And all round him in the gloom of the night nUit the of the Deutch I r dol ft and of the I rani furt Kartel artel s arlel sod and of his t the king of the II Huns and A Asars A ars faded dell u buk J I Into the lie darne darkness s to re- re resume resume re resume sume their w itch once more more In their webs ebs There were ere still lights In Fell Fel Mew less le lens ns as entered and the sound of his Ills key In the door brought brou lit forth Mrs l Pound found In the hall holl from the lIra drawing Ing room lint But mortally tired and anil ani Ies des scared did not en e care lIe drugged dragged Ills his leaden feet clung along the lull hili hi ill gl the and begin n |