Boy's Cinema (1939-40)

Every Tuesday the voices downstairs. If his luck was in D36 would bo in the attic -alone. One heavily sliaded lamp gleamed on the thick carpet of the corridor, and at the end Flick found a flight of stairs ■which curved around sharply in an up- ward direction. That must be the way to the attic. Every one of thase wooden stairs seemed to creak as he put his foot on it, and in the darkness his only guide was a line of light that came from the bottom of the attic door. Gently he felt over the door, found the handle and opened it. A small table lamp shone on to a stout wooden armchaii-, and there was D36, tightly bound to the chair; the cliair itself was roped to a stout oak post that was part of the attic wall. The Secret Service man had his eyes closed, but as Flick came in he opened them with a start. Flick crept over and pulled the gag down from his mouth. "How on earth did you get in here?" whispered D36 fiercely. Flick told him in a few brief sentences, ending: •' Just heard 'em say they're gonna take you on somewhere else.'' He took a swift look at D36's hands, and began to struggle with one of the knots. "You haven't a chance," said the Secret Service man. "Even if you got me free I don't think I could walk. They doped me!" "But once they take you from here we shan't know where you've gone," whis- pered Flick. "Gee. there must be some- thing -" He broke off, thought for a moment, then asked quickly: " Have they searched you?" D36 nodded. "Taken everything they could find," he said. ■ Good!" Flick unbuttoned his waist- coat and whipped oflf the belt carrying the miniature radio. Then he bent down forced it under the other's bonds, strapped it round his waist and covered it up as best he could. "It's a chance," said Flick swiftly. "If you can manage to press that switch with your arm now and again the transmitter will work. You may not be able to talk, but the microphone will pick up some sounds. If the batteries last out we may be able to get some radio direction finders to work to track down where you are!" D36 grinned faintly. • If s a chance," he agreed, then listened Intently. " Someone's coming! For the love of Mike hide!" One glance around that attic was enough to show there was no possible hiding-place. The only chance was a small window let into the sloping roof. Flick pushed back the gag on D36's mouth, flung open the window and scrambled through, hanging on to the window sill as he pushed it shut. Through a chink in the curtain, which had fallen back into place, he could see that D36 had slumped back into his chair iwith his eyes closed. Flick looked around in the darkness. He was right on the edge of a steeply sloping roof; there was a sheer drop to BOY'S CINEMA the ground and no possible way of getting down. He'd have to slay there until the others had gone, takiiig b36 with them. Ten minutes elapsed, then through the chink in the curtain he could sec the Secret Service man being lifted out of his chair and carried from the room. The car down on the drive was started up, and, leaning over the edge of the roof. Flick could faintly see D36 being carried into it. The car drove off, leaving Flick in a world of silence. Had everybody gone from the house? There was no knowing. But somehow he had to get out. Numbed with cold, he clambered back through the window into the attic and began to descend the stairs. He was half- way along the passage below, nearly up to the tiny window through whicii he "had entered, when a door opened and a man in shirt sleeves stopped out. Flick tried to jump back into hiding, but he was too late. The man had seen him— was coming down the passage at a run, straight for him. Flick tried to dodge, but an arm with a grasp of iron closed around his body. The man stared hard into his face. "Who are you?" he demanded. "How did you get in here?" Flick remained silent. The man re- peated the question, and when he could .see that Flick was not going to talk, he began to drag the boy along the passage. Helpless, his arms pinned to his sides. Flick gritted his teeth and raged at him- self for being such a fool. If only he'd waited a little longer, taken more time in making his escape, he might have managed it. Now he, too, was a prisoner. And Walmsley hadn't the faintest idea where he was. He'd given the detective no description of the house. Then he saw a faint chance. Standing against the wall of the passage just ahead was a small chair. They would pass it. It would be within reach of his feet. Timing the action to a second he waited until they were level with the chair, hooked his foot out suddenly ^nd brought it crashing down in their path. He stumbled over it and crashed to the ground, pulling his captor with him. For one brief moment the man's grip on him relaxed, and it was enough. Flick jerked himself free, leaped to his feet and raced along the corridor to a flight of stairs at the end. He was down the stairs in a flash, the man close behind him, and found himself in a hallway. Dimly oppo- site he could see a white door, the front door of the house. The man was at the foot of the stairs as Flick grasped the handle and turned it. The door remained fast. Just in time he saw a smaller latch and pushed it aside, wrenching at the door again. It swung open, crashing into the man who at that moment made a grab at him. Then Flick was out on the gravel path, tearing across the lawn blindly, with only a vague sense of direction. Something gave him a smashing blow in the face—he had crashed into a tree. And somewhere behind him an electric torch flashed on, searing through the darkness, shining straight on him. 21 But it shone dimly on something else, away to'he right—the while pillars of the entrance gates. Stunned and breathless. Flick raced acro.ss the lawn, through the gates and into the lane. He ran lor teji minutes in the direction of the town, then slowed down, sank on to a gra.ss bank to get his breath back. It was a waiting game now—wailing for Walmsley to arrive by car at Sinlon Station round about midnight. It seemed hours that he wailed near the station, scanning each car as it crept along, and then at last he spotted the one he was waiting for, pulling in at the kerb. He was at the door as Walmsley opened it. The detective got out. "Got an old friend of yours. Flick, Sergeant Bates." "Chin-chin, sergeant," said Flick, who added to Walmsley : " Gee, chief, I got so much to tell you I don't know where to begin." " Get in the back," said the detective. " No good trying to rush things. Sort your ideas out and let's have 'em." Flick told his story from the beginning as the car went slowly up the hill towards the house where D36 had been a prisoner. "And that's as far as we go for nine- pence," concluded the boy. "The house is just around that bend, and as far as I know there's only that one guy left. The others have gone! " ■Right!" said Walmsley, getting out of the car, followed by Bates. "You sit there and leave this bit to us. If that gent's still about we'll have one or two questions to ask him!" Walmsley and Bates were gone for only five minutes. When they came back Flick sensed failure He was right. "The whole place is empty," said Walmsley. "Your friend must have got the wind up and gone with the rest, perhaps in another car." " Then we're sunk," grunted Flick, " Unless——" "Unless your radio gadget gives us a clue. And somehow I think it will!" THE WIRELESS CIRCLE AS dawn broke the next morning four green vans moved slowly along the roads in a wide circle around the area where D36 had been captured. From the outside there was nothing to show that they were anything but delivery vans. In- side they were a mass of radio apparatus, with two operators at work at the controls. Walmsley and Flick sat on boxes in the rear of one of them. "What are these vans used for?" asked Flick. Walmsley chuckled. "In peace time they're used by the Post Office for tracking down people who use a radio set without a licence, or for finding the positions of illegal radio transmitters. They tune in a signal on their receivers, then revolve that circular aerial up in the roof. When the signal comes in at its strongest they know that the aerial is pointing in the direction from which the radio is coming. "Of course, one van is no use. You have to have a number of them, all taking fhousands of Free Gifts — Cheose Yours! i TABLE TENNIS I SET in box with net, two posts. two bats and I three baUs. 99 Coupons and 'Free Voucher. STAMP ALBUM 100 pages, spaces marked out for 3,000 stamps. 42 Coupons and Free Voucher, RAINBOV/ DOM- INOES in different colours. 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