Boy's Cinema (1935-39)

Every Tuesday md I should have liked to tell him so myself—only I know that he has been >alled away on business, and unfortu- nately I cannot await his return.'' "He'll understand, Pasha," Dorothy rejoined. "Your mission here is ful- Jilled, and your native land recalls you. Good-bye, and good luck!'' With Pasha saluting the girl and Jensen gravely, Foster engaged the gear- lever thankfully enough, and a few seconds later the car and the trailer were turning out on to the road. From the yard of the academy, Dorothy Bruce and the stable-hand watched the car and the horse-box roll off along the highway, and they were still watching the two vehicles when suddenly they swerved off the main San Francisco road and disappeared down a • right-hand fork—to take the route on which McDonald was wailing. "Hallo," Dorothy ejaculated, "why have I hey gone that way?" "Maybe it's a short cut to town," Jensen remarked, but the girl knitted her brows. "It's one I don't know, then," she began, only to stop short as a smart- looking roadster swung into view round a curve in the main highway. It was a car that was coining from the direction of San Francisco, and Frank Bradley was at the wheel of it with Rinty perched on the seat beside him, and in less than thirty seconds the wealthy young sportsman was pulling up beside the bewildered Dorothy and her father's employee. "Hallo, there!" Frank greeted them cheerfully. "Guess I got back in record lime. But where's Pasha? Everything's fixed, and he and Rex are sailing to- morrow " Dorothy found her voice, and. stum- bling close to the roadster, she clutched her admirer by the arm. "Frank," she gasped, "Pasha's gone! Two men called here with a car and a frailer. They said they'd been sent on your instructions. Pasha left with thein—and Rex !" "Pasha—left with them!" Frank's countenance had paled, and there was a look of concern in his eyes. " Dorothy, I didn't send anyone here. It's a trick —a trick! Which way did these men S° ? " The girl pointed shakily along the road by which he had approached. "That way! But they switched off down the right fork just before you showed up. You can overtake them before they get very far. The trailer will hold up their speed." Frank waited to hear no more. Nor did he give Dorothy and Jensen the chance to scramble into his roadster. With engine roaring he swung hard round and blazed in the direction that Crawford's men had taken, and he was already in top gear when he skidded on to the trail that branched away to the right. Crouching behind the steering-column, he thrust his foot hard down on the accelerator and forced the speedometer up to the seventy mark, and he had been driving for no more than a couple of minutes when Jie saw a haze of dust ahead of him. It was rising from the tyres of a car and trailer, and soon Frank was career- ing abreast to see the unsuspecting Pasha in the company of Foster and Watt Mason, both of whom were stiangers to the young polo player, though ho had no doubt that they were agents of Crawford. "Pasha," he shouted, braking to the speed of the touring car, " those men are crooks!" The Sujanese had turned his head BOY'S CINEMA and a look of astonishment had appeared on his swarthy features at sight of Frank. But at the latter's warning yell his astonishment changed to alarm, and with a hoarse cry he made a dive for the tourer's handbrake. Foster struck him across the face to prevent him from interfering' with the controls, and at the same time Mason lunged forward from the back seat and clutched the hapless foreigner around the neck. Then the gangster in the driving-seat attempted to outstrip Frank Bradley's automobile by opening the throttle full out. He did not succeed, for Frank had him beaten in acceleration, and, draw- ing into the lead almost immediately, steered across Foster's path to carry out the desperate plan of forcing the scoun- drel off the road. Foster had to wrench hard on the wheel to avoid a collision with the big two-seater, and, if he had been a more competent motorist, he might have pulled up on the range-grass alongside the trail. But he lost control, and in missing Frank's car he crashed into a telegraph pole with an impact that brought disaster. The pole snapped and came hurtling down amid a tangle of broken wires. The tourer lurched wildly and over- turned on the roadside, spilling out its occupants, and almost simultaneously the horse-box tle.it contained Hex broke from its fastenings and went bowling across the rough ground on the light until it. came to a standstill some little distance away. Meanwhile Frank had brought his own car to a halt, and, Rinty leaping out after him, he dashed back to the wrecked tourer. He had not anticipated such an eventuality when he had tried to force the crooks off the road, and anxiety was written on his face as he bent down beside Pasha, who was lying motion- less. Then he became aware that Foster and Mason were picking themselves up, and he was just in time to defend him- self against the sudden rush that they made at him. Foster ho checked with a hard jolt to the chin, and, staggering away, the man was attacked by Rinty before he could recover from the blow. But Mason closed with Frank, and was battling savagely with him when the sound of hurrying footsteps heralded the arrival of McDonald, who had been waiting down the road and who had witnessed the smash. McDonald rushed to Mason's aid, and in another moment Frank was tripped and borne to the ground. But he carried his antagonists with him, and as they lolled in the dust the three struggling combatants realised dimly that tho fumes of petrol were gathering in their nostrils. It was petrol that was pouring out of the wrecked tourer's fuel tank by the gallon, for the filler-rap of that tank had sprung from its nozzle at the instant of the impact. But Frank and his foes were ignorant of the fact that the petrol would soon endanger their lives. They did not know that it was spreading slowly but surely towards a couple of broken telegraph wires, which had made contact on the road and which wero spluttering in fierce electrical fire. Frank and his enemies fought, on, little dreaming that in the space of a few seconds they would be wiped out by a shattering explosion! (To be continued in another long epi- sode next week. By permission of Asso- ciated British Film Distributors, Ltd., starring Kane Richmond, Norma Taylor, and Rex and Rinty.) 25 |"THE DEVIL takes the COUNT' 2 (Continued from page 10) <-»^%3C5C3l^C3fc%3S3C3t>%^C5C3C3w*3C3C3C^>^~* things, and just to remind you how im- portant it is to go straight I'm going to put you both on probation for six months." The judge smiled at them as a friend. "And I want that to mean simply this, and only this: You're to come to the probation officer once a month and say to him: 'I'm doing great, and I'm never going to get into trouble again.' You understand?" The two boys nodded. The judge then dismissed the elder folks as lie wished to have a private talk with the three boys. He told them that, the Devil was always lurking around corners looking for foolish boys. "The Devil is a weak sister," the judge concluded. "That surprises you. You see the Devil was an angel once, and an angel has to be tough to do his job. And the Devil couldn't be tougb enough so they threw him out—and he's been hiding down here ever since. Always looking for weaklings and cissys. You boys must be tough, SO the Devil hasn't got, a chance. Keep to tho strict, Utter of the law and you have him beaten. That's all, lads." Ho held out his hand. "Good luck to you!" But though the judge was smiling, lie was not quite happy about the expres- sions on the faces of Buck and Gig. The big boys were sore at, being tricked by the smaller lad, but ho didn't know^ how sore. It was not till the next day that Buck and Gig managed to get Claude alone, and their faces wire fierce. "So you wanna be a Raffles!" sneered Buck. "Now, listen—get this into your dome, Dope. From now on you're out of the gang, see? We don't even know you're dead. You can go play by your- self. And if you come, snooping round us we'll black both your eyes " "And break all your ribs," added Gig. "Get going, Mister Cissy RalhY-." The Fateful Friday BUCK and Gig wero not pleased with life. The more they thought over the whole affair, the more discon- tented they became. They were the big noises at the school, and they had been made lo look like a couple of suckers by a kid, but they couldn't punch Claude's head because it was his toys that had bought that tombstone. Everyone seemed lo stare at them and ask what it, felt like snooping into an empty house. Buck's parents were con- stantly reminding the boy of his lolly, whilst Gig had a big grouch—his mother was thinking of marrying Paul Krumpp. The boys were duo to report on the last Saturday of the month, and on the. Fiiday evening there was a meeting of the gang. "We ain't gonna report," Gig told the gang. "We're getting outa hero. No guy is gonna hang around my house and call mo ' his boy.' We're quitting to-night after supper." "Where are you going?" asked Six Toes. "Out wesl. first," decided Peek. "Maybe we'll get across the border into Canada." It was from Six Toes that Claude learned that Buck and Gig were plan- ning to run away that night. Gig fail mid Six Toes that lie would pay a final visit io the cemetery where his father was buried, and, after that, shake the dust of the cifj from his feet for ever. December 26th, 1330.