Evening star., 1934-10-09
INSTALLMENT XVIII.

exclaimed in surprise.
mo. haven't been for a long time
At first I was tied up all the time
Then I cried. I couldn't help 1t.
guess they felt sorry for me because
they united my hands and then aftel
a time they united my feet"
THE dirty -" Terry gave vent tc
his emotions in long string of in
vectives. Then he dropped his voice
and whispered, "Pietro, lean closer. L
there some one watching US. How
long have I been here? Have you
heard them say anything about girl
Did they bring girl here? Where
Is she now?"
There isn't any girl here. There
Is a man who gives me things to eat. >
Did they bring a girl here?"
mo. I heard them talking about q
girl, though"
What did they say2" Terry asked
eagerly.
They laughed and said. Hes 9
sucker for sure"
"Yes?" Terry urged. Go on. What
else did they say? Tell me everything
you heard after they brought me here
When was it?"
1T must have been yesterday. ]
don't know for sure. I only tell time
by meals They brought you before
supper last night and I had my break
fast about an hour ago."
Don't you ever have any light?"
"A candle sometimes, that's all.
haven't seen the sunshine for such a
long time. The windows are all
boarded up"
"The dirty skunks!"
They haven't been mean to me-
Pietro defended. Don't you wan:
me to tell you what heard?"
"Yes. Go on. You are sure there
was no girl?"
I'll tell you what I heard. The
door opened and they carried you in
l could see your body in the light
that came from the other room. They
dumped you on the couch. They said
you were out like a light. Then ]
heard some one say they hoped you'd
never wake up, and another man, ]
think he's the boss, was mad and
said your death would be all they
needed to queer the game. Are you
ball player?"
mo, I'm a reporter, but 60 on. II
tell you about me later"
Il heard one man say, I told VOL
it would work. They telephoned
some girl and told her to meet YOU
at the station. They said she fell for
1t. Then they called you and told
you they had the girl"
Then the girl isn't here at all?"
mo. They laughed about that
She's still at the station, I suppose, u
he said simply.
Terry gave a great sigh of relief.
Was it your pigeon?" Pietro asked
after moment.
What pigeon?"
They said they had a pigeon and
1t liked some one very much and they
would be able to use it."
How would they use it? Think
hard now" Terry cautioned.
They said if the pigeon came back
everybody would be watching it and
because all eyes would be on the
pigeon, they could do something.
DO what?" Terry demanded.
"They said this pigeon would prob
ably light on his shoulder and that
would be the time to do it. I couldn't
hear any more then"
They are going to let me 20 home
soon" Pietro said after long silence
Did they say why?"
mo"
Have you ever seen any of these
men?"
mo. Only the one who brings me
my food"
Did you ever seen him before
around base ball park?"
NO"
''How many times have you slept
since they brought me here?"
"Only once"
''Then this is Monday and there is
a game today" Terry was thinking
out loud. They are after Doyle, and
that pigeon will be the signal for his
death. If I could only get out of
here!"
"I used to try it, but it's no use.
He beat me and didn't give me any
thing to eat"
Poor kidd"
I'm not strong. I'm deformed
I'm a humpback That's why I got
the job with the Chicago team. They
used to rub my. hump for luck. They
were good to me. After he beat me
I didn't try any more. Do you think
We could get away?" he asked, and
Terry detected new note in his
voice.
I'VE could try. There are two oi
us now. Do you ever knock on the
door when you want anything?"
Not any more. I did at first, but
the man used to hit me and make
me wait for whatever I wanted"
''See if you can unite my hands"
suppose he comes in?"
Lets hope he doesn't until you
have them united" Terry said grimly
Pietro fumbled with the knots fol
what seemed ages. With his hands
free at last, Terry pushed his body
up to a sitting position and swung
his legs down to the floor. His hands
were numb.
Here" he said to Pietro, rub my
hands as hard as you can. Don't be
afraid of hurting me-"
Life began to come back to his
hands as Pietro worked. He could
feel the blood painfully working its
way through his veins. They tingled
and burned and in a few moments
he could wiggle his f1ngertips and
finally his whole hand felt normal.
That's fine. Now we'll see what
we can do to these ropes about my
legs"
They worked together and soon
Terry was free and quietly working
his legs to induce proper circulation
"I wonder what time it is?" Terry's
thoughts were on the game and Larry
will there be a ball game today?"
Pietro asked.
YES"
at isn't time for the game, be-
cause he turns on the radio then"
Does he give you your lunch be-
fore he listens to the gamer"
mot always"
Damn, oh, damnl How are we
going to get out of here?"
II think I can smell something
cooking" Pietro said hopefully.
Terry shifted. There was no doubt
about it. Their captor was cooking