Boy's Cinema (1939-40)

Every Tuesday on Degado again, made a gesture of dis- missal. ■ Get out that truck and do as I told you," he instructed. " Sloan, you and Thorg can go with Degado—in case any- one liappens to appear on the scene whilo he's blocKing the road and wants to know .vhat he's up to." Accompanied by Sloan and the mutt^ .'jant known as Thorg, Degado hastened from the office and made his way to the yard of the kelp plant, and about a minute atlor he and the two men who had foHowcd him from BoroH's sanctum were swinging on to the Portland road in the 'orry to which the scientist had referred. Seated behind the steering-wheel ot the truck, which was of massive dimensions, Degado drove southward for a little over a mile and finally pulled up in a dip where ihe road narrowed considerably and A'here close-knit trees overshadowed both fides of the highway. "This seems as likely a spot as we could ,vish for," he said to Thorg and Sloan. •I reckon so. Degado,"' Sloan agreed. 'A few turns of the wheel and you can •>ar the whole width of the road. And he trees will prevent anybody in a car from turning off the road and circling .around the obstruction. ' Degado proceeded to manoeuvre the heavy truck into such a position that it formed an impassable barricade across I he highway, and when he had accom- plished this ho and the two men who were with him alighted from the vehicle and moved towards the front of it. Then, lifting the bonnet, Degado reached for the !r=agneto and ripped out the ignition-wires by main force. •'Well, that's that,' he announced, hav- ing severed those wires and thereby rendered the truck's engine inoperative. ■I guess this outfit's going to take some shifting " He checked, for it was at that juncture that hs and his associates detected the drone of a motor. It was a sound that .arried to them from the south, and, stiffening involuntarily, they exchanged inxious glances. • Somebody's heading this way! " Sloan jerked. "Maybe it's Kent and a detail of coastguardsmen! Quick, beat it!'' The three rogues dived for the right- hand side of the road and plunged into '.he thick of a dense mass of undergrowth That grew amid the trees there. Their in- tention was to make off imder cover of that undergrowth and return to the kelp plant with all speed: but they had scarcely gained the shelter of the vegeta- rion when, looking back, they saw a closed car appear on the rim of the dip wherein the truck had been abandoned. It was a car that Degado was quick to recognise, and he halted abruptly, grip- ping Sloan and Thorg as he did so and restraining them. ■Hey, wait a minute!" he ejacvilated. BOY'S CINEMA "That's our sedan—the one Kent and his girl-frjond and thai cameraman got away with I" "Yeah?" Sloan panted. "Well, it's piobablv packed with coastguardsmen now. Come on!" Degado speedily divined that Sloan was mistaken, however, for within a few seconds the oncoming sedan was drawing up in close proximity to the lorry that blocked the road, and he observed then that it contained only one occupant. That occupant was Terry Kent, and, as no other car could be heard approaching, Degado stood his ground and continued to restrain Thorg and Sloan. At the same time he was careful to remain under cover, and, .screened by the foliage of the brushwood into which they had dashed, he and his companions peered through the greenery at Terry as the revenue officer opened the oft-side door of the sedan and stepped out on to the road. Ignorant of the fact that three pairs of eyes were riveted on him, Terry ad- vanced to the truck and scanned its driv- ing-cab. Then he directed his gaze upon the uplifted bonnet of the ponderous vehicle, and. moving close to that bonnet, he leaned forward and scrutinised the engine. In the undergrowth nearby Degado looked at Sloan and Thorg significantly, and then reached for his hip-pocker. In another moment he had tugged out a Colt six-shooter of .45 calibre, aird, suddenly starting forward, he barked a command at the Coast Guard lieutenant. ■Reach for the air, Kent! And don't try any tricks, or I'll blast daylight clear through you!" Terry was handling the sundered igni- tion wires as Degado s words fell upon his ears, and, wheeling at the sound of the man's voice, he beheld the gangster strid- ing towards him. The revolver in Degado's fist was trained upon him: but iir spite of that cir- cumstance, and in spite of the ruffian's grim warning, the revenue officer took a chance. Lunging, he struck at the six- gun with his left hand and knocked it downwards, and tirough the weapon belched liame and lead the bullet that ripped from its muzzle ploughed harm- lessly into the ground. Almost simultaneously Teri'y brought his right into action and "drove his bunched knuckles into Degado's jaw with a force that sent Boroff's minion asprawl. Yet he had hardly delivered that punch when Sloan and Thorg leaped at him from the underbrush, and next second they were grappling with him fiercely. Locked in combat, the lieutenant and his two assailants reeled across the road, Thorg and Sloan striving to bear him to the ground and overpower him. They failed to " floor " him. however, and Terry was Droving himself a match for the pair 21 of thrin when Degado rccovcroci from the effects of the right-hand Jult ho had s istained. The Riinmrn v;as .still clutching the Colt with which he had attempted t') over- awe Terry, but, afraid of hitlmg .Sloan or Thorg by mistake, he did not try to dnil the revenue officer with if. Instead he club))cd thv! revolver, scrambled to his feet, and. dodging to the rear of Ten-v. brought the butt down on the back of the young coastguardsman's head. The cowardly blow was delivered with savage violence, but was to some extent misjudged, and Terry was spared the full effect of it. Nevertheless his brain was benumbed by the .shock of it. and under the cruel impact he became limp in the grasp of Sloan and Thorg. They let him sink to the dust, and he was lying there in an inert heap when Degado spoke to them. "That settled him.'' he growled. "Now tie him up good and tight .so he won't be able to set up to anv mi.schief if he comes round sooner than I think he will. You'll find some rope in the truck." Sloan and Thorg did his bidding, and ere long Terry had been securely bound hand and foot. Then Degado addressed himself to the other two rogues again. "Okay, let's go,' he said. "Back to the kelp plant at the double. If that: plane has arrived the boss may need oar heln m loading the arnatite aboard it. Huh, I wonder whether he's laid that mi.:e vet —in readiness to blow up any raidihg- party that may bust into the premises?" He was moving oflf with his companions as he uttered those last words, bat his reference to Borolf's dastardly intention was not lost on Terry Kent. For already Terry had collected his scattered wits, and though his temples were throbbing as a result of the blow he had received, the lieutenant v.as in full possession of iris senses. Lying in the. dust, his ankles lashed firmly together and his hands fastened behind his back, Terry watched Degado, Sloan and Thorg enter the undergrowth to circle the lorry and thresh their way thrcugii the vegetation. Then he heard them turn on to the road again lust beyond the massive vehicle, and, the patter of their footfalls receding out of earshot, he began to strain against his bends in the hope of slackening the imprisoning coils of hemp He soon realised that he could tiever win his freedom in that manner, how- ever, a.nd he had ceased his ineffectual struggles when, happening to turn his head, lie set eyes on the car which he had driven northward from Portland. It was then that an inspiration occ-.:rred to him. and, rolling in the direction of the sedan until he Vv^as close to the radiator of the automobile, he brousht up his feet and dashed his heels against the glass disc of ono of its headlamp". All these presents FREE to any boy or girl TANTALIZER PUZZLE A grand game for wet week-ends. You and your friends viill just love it! 15 Coupons and Free Voucher. WRITING WALLET Pens, pencils, rubber, Inlc eraser, ruler, set square, protractor. 54 Coupons and Freo Voucher. 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