Boy's Cinema (1930-31)

Every Tuesday '-^-►* I "THE STAR WITNESS." I t (UODtinuea iiom page lu.; i lipon them from the upper part of the shop opposite, but almost at once the man who had been tutoring Doiiny m the art of baseball pitching allayed their fears. ■'It's all right. Jack." Ho grinned at his leader's obvious discomfiture. "Just a slight accident. The kid was practis- ing 3, pitch and sent the ball througii " An accident, boloney!" A hatchet- faced gangster. Lug Lorgons by name, turned quickly from the window. Below On the side-walk he had seen an aged man witii iron-grey hair and beard and dressed in the blue uniform of an army pensioner, pick up the baseball that had landed at his feet. "The kid's grand- father is down in the street—I recog- nise the old fool. It was him who ^''as Efaying that flute. Searching for I he rat, I guess, and the kid knew it was I him by the music." His ugly face black with rage, Big ck swung on his heel, and his mur- brously gleaming eyes glared down to 6e si<le-walk. Ho was just in time to 'see Grandpa Summerill inspect the base- ball closer and to give a start as he dis- covered from the initials upon it that it was the one he had recently given his gi andson. ; Next moment and the watching gang- ' stor saw the old warrior hobble away, and knew on the instant that he had gone in search of the police. "You dirty little brat!" Big Jack fairly leaped at Donny, caught liiin savagely by the coat collar and slung him into the settee. " l'"or that I've a darned good mind to drill you !" His gun was out in a flash, menacing the cowering little figure, but evidently he thought better than to shoot a more child, for ho suddenly swung away and confronted his confederates. "That old swine's gone for the bulls -that's certain, boys 1" he spat at them fiercely. " Best make a break for it before we have a hornet's nest about our cars." But grandpa had run into half a dozen stalwart patrolmen not fifty yards along Iho road. They came swinging out of a side-turning, one of several I parties of oflicers who wore scarcliing that quarter of the city for the kid- I napped boy. " Quick 1 Quick!" The old stager cx- Icitcdly grasped the arm of the foremost lofliccr. " Along hero, quick—the Ideal |Papcr Box Plant, Ltd." Now, see here, grandpa," growled [the patrolman, a good-natured man of fEnglish descent, "you can't play tricks ike this on " "Grandpa's right. That's just what am. I'm his grandpa." In his excite- iicnt old man Summerill did not realise ho need for making him.<;elf clear to he group of officers. Again he tugged ' t Police-Officer Sainty's arm, succeeded I dragging him almost to tlie door c)f le premises labelled the Ideal Paper ;Qx Plant, Ltd., and pointed a trem- bling finger towards the smashed win- 6w above. "See up there, that ushed window? Denny's up there— my, my grand " 'That's enough, you old ditherer." fes'Of Policc-Officer Sainty's (Colleagues 1$ped grandpa firmly by the arm. 7e can't have you raving like this in lie streets. Batty, that's what you are. |!d you're going inside to be certified." "'Why, doggone it!" grandpa fumed. BOY'S CINEMA "So I'm batty, huh? Why, you big mug, I'll " "iS'ow, now, what's all the row?" a stern voice suddenly inquired. A police lieutenant, followed by a ser- geant, had stepped from across the rc^nd to discover what the scene was about. But before any of liis subordinates could answer him, the sergeant accompany- ing him gavo_ a shrill whistle, then turned quickly to his superior officer. "This man's Summerill, sir," he ex- plained. "The missing witness in the >'ampo case." - "Missing witness, your granny!" The old warrior pulled a face at the sergeant, then turned eagerly to the lieutenant. "Now, now, you listen here, young man. Take a sly look above these here premises, the broken window there. You see it? Well, my grandson's up there. How do I know ? Well, he threw this here baseball through the window as I came along a-playing my fife. I was liunting for him, and lie recognised the tune I was a-pyiing. See his initials on the ball? You do? Well, if you've brains you can guess the rest. Campo's gang kidnapped Donny Leeds and they've got him right up there." The lieutenant nodded grimly as he again took a surreptitious glance at the broken window above, saw tlic pair of sinister eyes that peeied down at them. The eyes of Big Jack, who stepped hastily back from the window to report to his companions that there was no easy getaway for tlieni now—that it had come to a show-down with the cops and that they must light their way to freedom. "Now, boys "—his face set grimly, the police lieutenant reached for his gun—" we're going in after that kid right now, and if those thugs show light don't hesitate to shoot 'em down. Ready?" They nodded, and ho led the way to a door upon whose frosted glass panels were the words, "Ideal Paper Box Plant, Ltd." Instantly Grandpa Sum- merill, his eyes shining wfth the light of battle, shuffled to the police lieutenant's side. But the officer, becoming aware of the old fellow's presence, stopped and gravely shook his head. "No, you cant come, grandpa," ho told him sternly. "Its too darned risky. Those brutes will almost certainly shoot when we break in and " " Let 'em shoot!" With an effort grandpa drew himself erect. "I'm a soldier I am—and I'll say the army can tako care of itself. Yes, sirec, they darn well can, believe me." The lieutenant knew there was no time for argument, so with a shrug v)f his shoulders, he went forward again, led his men into what seemed to be half- shop, half-office. Not a soul to be seen— if there had been anyone in tlie place in the last few minutes he had evidently become aware ot the presence of the police and had made himself scarce. Without hesitation, the lieutenant opened a door at the far end of the spacious premises, and, gun in hand, he led the way into the wide passage beyond. In front laj a staircase that ran up to the floor above, and the police swarmed towards it. All seemed strangely quiet and still, but not for long. Suddenly there came a loud report from the direction of the upstairs landing, and, with a gasp, one of the leading police officers pitched to the floor, a bullet imbedded in his thigh. Next instant the place echoed to a regular fusillade of shots. 'Paking advantage of what little shelter they could find, the police olficers fired every time a face showed 23 on the landing at the top of the stairs. But Big Jack and his confederates, trapped though they were, offered a stout resistance, and the battle waged grim and relentless for some few minutes before a concerted rush by the police at last overpowered them. "Ah, ha, we've beaten the dirty skunks!" To the amazement of the police lieutenant. Grandpa Summerill waved a revolver excitedly above hia head. The old stager grinned as he saw the frown on the stern but good-looking face. " Yes, siree, a gun, and I sure enjoyed meself with it. Shot one of the white-livered curs, I think. But don't look at me like that. I've got a licence for the dunicd thing. You pay atten- tion to your business. Find my grand- son—you hear me?" The officer laughed good-naturedly, then gave quick instructions to two of h:s men. A few minutes' search, then back they came with little Donny, who, at sight of his grandfather, gavo a loud whoop and ran into his out- stretched arms. " That's the Fellow Who Did the Shooting ! " THE court was crowded, for the trial of the notorious Maxey Campo, racketeer and killer, had aroused tremendous interest in tlio city of Fara- mcnto, especially as this was the first time in many mouths that a gangster had been put in the dock. Would he be found guilty of the charge upon which he was indicted? All present hoped that ho would be, though the majority feared that bribery and corruption, or intimidation, would carry the day in his favour. Every precaution had been taken by the authorities to guard against tho possibility of an attempt being made by Campo's gunmen to kidnap tho pii.soncr from the court-room. A strong force of armed police officers had been flung around tiie building, while some score others stood at van- tage points within the court itself. And e\ery care had been taken not to let in any known member of the gangster fraternity of the city or any othei" suspicious characters. The case for the State had been out- lined. Campo was charged with killing Jim Preston, a trusted officer of Fara- mento, and Greener Kaufman, the gangster who had .sought to double- cross his old enemy by giving evidence against him to the police. The first witness, Jackie Leeds, was placed in the box, and District Attorney Whitlock, his face hard and grim, immediately confronted him. " Now, Mr. Leeds, you have heard the charge, one of first degree murder, made against Maxey Campo, the prisoner." He half-turned and glanced at Campo, who was leaning arrogantly against the dock, hands in pockets, a cynical smile upon his thin, cruel lips, coolly masticating chewing-gum. " You saw the shooting down in Western Street from the window of your house, Mr. Leeds. Now is this the man who fired at Jim Preston and Kaufman?" Jackie looked nervously at the sinister figure of tho racketeer, saw the fero- cious gleam in the man's eyes and ex- perienced a feeling of nausea. "Nun-no," he said in a weak and trembling voice. A wido grin spread across Campo's coarse face, while Whitlock eyed Jackie with white-hot fury in his gaze. "But your .statement," ho rapped out. "In it you said you identified tho killer from tho photograph I showed .you—and that photograph was Maxey Campo's." November 2lst, 1931.