The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-01

The other car was backing up.
It's doors were closed now and
the two men who had been running
were in it. Streaks of flame were
coming from its lowered windows.
Tom knocked open the far door
of his own car and reached for the
bracketed rifle above the wind
shield in one motion. He sprawled
through and lay on the running
board as far forward as he could
get without raising his head. The
engine would stop bullets.
QUICKLY he thrust up the rifle,
~ took one shot in the general
direction of the car he could not see
and then went down on his hands
and knees. He realized that the
men shooting at him could not see
beneath his own car from the
height of theirs. Behind him bull
lets tore through the radiator and
hood.
Tom peered from the back of the
car. Then, prone on the ground, he
brought his rifle into action, firing
directly at the flashes in the other
car. The heavier roaring of the
rifle drowned the sharp crack of
pistols. Their firing ceased. The
car began moving. For the first
time Tom took a careful sight and
fired. The car went on and then
slowly swerved, bumped softly
against the curbing and stopped.
A man, pistol in hand, came run
mig from the bank behind Tom,
stopped beside him and said, "Are
you hurt?" Without waiting for an
answer he emptied his pistol into
the stalled machine.
"They shot one of our tellers," he
said when the roar died away.
Tom said, IT don't think they'll
do any more shooting"
He was right. When, guns on
the alert, they opened a shot-rid-
died door of the car they found two
men dead and one dying. The bank
guard drew the canvas sack from
beneath one of the bodies.
NTEARLY 10000 bucks" he said.
IN Worth taking a chance for.
They would have gotten away with
it, too, if you hadn't come along.
Guess they didn't figure on that"
But they had. just how we'll the
bank holdup had been planned
Tom learned when another radio car
came roaring up to the bank and
was quickly followed by another,
with Capt. Lipscomb sitting be-
side the driver.
Reports were made quickly, or
ders given and the rapidly gather
ing crowd kept back as the wound
ed bandit was lifted out of the car,
Good shooting, kid" said Joe
Miley, a fellow trooper, as he
clapped Tom on the shoulder. "You
sure had your nerve with you. Lis
comb is tickled pink. I brought him
over. Heard you were in bad with
him. This ought to straighten it
out. He would have had hell of
a time explaining if they had got
ten away with it. Especially after
sending in that fake alarm"
"Huh?" said Tom.
."DIDN'T you get it?" asked Miley.
~ That call about a riot over in
Phillipsburg? The dispatcher sent
il out. Yours was the only car in
go miles that didn't go there. One
Of these birds probably made the
call" He jerked a thumb at the
bandit machine. They had it fig
ured pretty" he went on. Send
ing fake call for cars to stop a
riot that wasn't there and then
cracking a bank so miles away. How
WAS it you didn't go?"
Before Tom could answer, Capt
Lipscomb called: Barnett, come
here, will you?"
Tom obeyed, pausing to take a
quick look at his own car. Capt.
Lipscomb held out his hand. "Fine
work" he said. t'I'll send in
report about this. 1t may mean
step up for you. If you feel shaky
you can go back to the barracks in
another car"
I'm all right, sir" Tom an
swered. But -" he paused.
But what?" asked the captain.
i've broken another radio" an
swered Tom. THAT is, bullet
went through it and smashed it. It's
no good"
n IPSCOMB laughed. wen have
- it fixed up" he said. ct don't
care how many you break that way.
Just forget what I said this morn
ing"
Yes, sir" answered Tom.
He was glad to forget. And glad
to have his commanding officer for
get.
Because the radio had been bro
ken before the bullet smashed 1t,
broken by Toms attempts to get
station WHRN and little relief
from the dispatcher's voice.
THE END