The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-11-22
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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
DOBBY WALLACE hunched
ID himself back of the stunted,
SCOT blackened bush and held him
self motionleSs with a tense effort
that made his muscles ache. The
light from the auto headlights in
side the factory yard seemed 10
blaze with a brilliance beyond
that of midday.
For a long, agonizing minute he
was in the very center of the
brightness, while he covered low in
sudden fear, not daring to move
with a little sprig from the bush
tickling his ear.
Then. at last, the rumble of the
engine grew louder as the car went
into gear; the light swung slowly
past him as the car turned to drive
to the gate at the front of the en-
circling fence, and at last ne was
in darkness again.
He waited there few seconds
longer, straining his ears; he could
hear no sounds that would indicate
that he had been discovered. He
grew bold enough to raise his head
and peek out, over the bush.
The fence was not more than Is
feet away, and the factory wall was
perhaps 40 feet beyond that. The
car was trundling along over I'M
even ground between the fence and
the building, and as it reached the
front, where the gate WaS-a matter
of so or 10 feet to Bobby's right--it
came to a halt, its lamps throwing
uprights of metal into sudden re-
lief
Bobby blinked until his eyes got
used to the darkness, and stood up,
peering beyond the fence intently.
No one was visible along the wall;
down at the front, where the car
was, a few figures were visible.
One man, evidently the Waterman
as he crossed the beam of the
lights a holster was visible on his
hip-was sauntering over to open
the gate.
Two others had come out of the
factory and were standing by the
running board talking to some one
in the car. They had left the fac
tory door open and stood in the
light that came out from the in
side.
THE ground where Bobby stood
Il was full of cinders and little
stones, and it was hard to walk
without making noise: but with
infinite care Bobby tried to draw
nearer. He had proceeded a dozen
feet or more when the Waterman
swung the wire gate open.
The cars motor hummed more
loudly, again, the men who had
been standing at the running board
stepped back. and the car went on
through the gate
AS it did so, its rear end passed
into the light that came from the
factory door. Thanking the fortune
which had given him good eyes,
Bobby peered at the license num-
Der, silently repeating the digits
over and over to fix them in his
memory: FH-1973-X. Then the car
passed out Of the light and dis
appeared up the little ravine, It's
red tail light blinking brightly as it
passed out of sight.
The Waterman closed the gate.
and the other two men went back
into the factory and closed the door,
leaving the place at the factory en-
trance as dark as the rest of the
landscape. Bobby stood there, gap
ing at nothing, with his mouth
open.
To be sure, he had seen nothing
In the least out of the way . ex-
cept for the fact that FH-1973-X
was the license number of the car
owned by Mark Hopkins. his en-
ployer, whom he suspected of run
ming a secret and illegal factory
where bullet-proof cars were made
for gangSterS!
He must have stood there for
three or four minutes, quite motion
less. obllviouS to his surroundings.
while he tried to think things out.
His first impression was that all
of this confirmed his worst suS-
picions.
He had in his pocket an invoice
proving that Mark Hopkins auto
agency regularly bought a number
of passenger car chassis from De-
troit. which could not be accounted
for in any of its ordinary business.
He had discovered this factory
tucked away in an almost undiScov-
cradle part of the waste-landS on
the fringe of the industrial district.
guarded by an armed man who per-
mitted no one to loiter near it. Now
he had discovered that Hopkins
himself came out here. late at night
And vet. he told himself. it might
all mean nothing at all. There might
be some perfectly proper explanation
for it.
III tell Larry Glenn all about it"
he decided, at last. He'll know
what TO do about it."
LIE began walking toward the
L l. front of the building, to find
the cindered roadway that would
take him back to PulaSki-av, where
his car was parked. And he
thought so hard about what he
would tell the Federal man that he
forgot how much care he ought to
exercise in putting his feet down on
the crunchy gravel; and suddenly
a harsh voice split the night with a
rough. Hey, you! Where you going?"
Bobby froze in his tracks. Be
yond the fence he could just see the
hulking figure of the Waterman
standing up and staring out at him.
For one painful moment Bobby
waited there; then. impulsively, he
broke into wild run. needless Of
direction, seeking only TO get as far
aWaV from tho faCf0ry IN aS short