Evening star., 1939-01-03
BY H. G.. WELLS.
CHAPTER XIV.
Rescue Party.

when I'm beaten?"
No good to begin like that.
The steps came nearer. A faint
nght f11ckered through the inspec-
ton wicket and fickered away
again. 1t was like the flicker of an
electric torch. His heart was now
beating very fast. Some one ratified
the door. A voice outside asked
ANY one here?"
Very like Irwell's voice, but YOU
couldn't be sure. Better keep still
Pretend to be asleep?
Then came another quite familiar
voice. "Rud!"
Rud leapt to his feet: "Chiffan!
Chiffan! Is that you?"
3 Chiffan's voice, gh-pitched and
cheerful, Here he is! Where the
hell are those keys?"
And then instantly the lights
went on again Somebody was
saying something about fuse.
A key turned in the lock, the door
opened and Chiffan stood with a
pallid, triumphant face, regarding
his leader.
What is it? Is it still Yhursday?'
Seems Like Eternity.
Still Thursday, Rud! How long
do you think you have been here?'
Eternity"
"You can't have been in this place
much more than three-quarters of
an hour"
Il was knocked out. I've been in
sensible. I've been dreaming. What
I want first Of all is a drink of
water. I've got fever on me. Then
a wash"
What you want is whisky and
soda. Then some one ought to
bandage you up"
But tell me what has happened?'
Here's Rogers. Rogers, here he
Isl"
Are you hurt?" asked Rogers.
Nothing. Tell me-"
''1t's gone like clockwork. What
a scrap! A lovely scrap! And
right in the heart of the West
End. Nothing like it for years
Poor old Horry!"
Whats happened to him?"
He got a kick in the groin. You
should have heard him howl What
a voice he has for the wilderness!
But he's hurt-decidedly hurt.
I'm sorry about that. 1 don't like
things happening like that. There
a limit to things. I hope it was ac-
cidental. But the rest of the fight
was fair and square. I suppose you
didn't see one of my Whitechapel
kids tackle that all-in man, you
know the Terrible Slew? Dodged his
kick and caught his heel and over he
went. Just before the platform up
set. thought he'd broken his neck
Subsequent proceedings interested
him no more ..
Some Dirty Work.
"Or maybe he thought he'd earned
his pay. A lot of those roughs seemed
to get heart failure when they saw
what they had to deal with. They
thought they were just there to beat
up meeting and get hold of you.
There was some dirty work with
razor blades, but that was Horry's
old lot. Not our chaps, I hope. None
Of my boys certainly. But-this
scraps going to be historical. In
the heart Of Tyburnia. The police
were pretty late.
Where Horny got all those roughs
Of his don't know. He must have
a criminal connection somewhere
One or two the Inspector told me
were certainly old lags. He got quite
friendly with us. Didn't seem to
fancy Horny. :. Half of them didn't
know each other, often they were
just slogging blind, but my Boys
knew each other down to the
ground. Anyhow, 1t was the great
est scrap you ever! 1t was
great scrap"
Rud was still sitting on the plank
bed, but his leadership was recon
stituting itself very rapidly in his
mind. When he spoke again, he
spoke as the Chief and every one
listened.
Here we are" he said. Except
for my temporary obliteration, the
whole things evidently gone like
clockwork. Eth? AS we planned it
We've put it over-thanks to Bod.
isham and Steenhold-and now the
thing is to-what's the military
phraSe?-conSolidate the position
What's the right time? My watch
is smashed. We must get on to al
the press resources available anc
explain quite clearly what it was al
about. Thrice is he armed thai
hath his quarrel just, but he win.
out who gets his tale fust!' We
must have photographers. I'll talk
to every interviewer that reads anc
writes"
Heroically Bandaged.
But upstairs!" said Irwell
We've found things. Pictures ane
things"
Publish everything"
But you know-he was a bit o1
q stinker!"
Release his stink" said Rud.
Within half an hour Rud was ir
bohun's coveted chair, heroically
bandaged and heroically talking
The newspaper men stood or walket
about: cIf we have chairs up here
they'll park themselves" said Rud
taking IN entirely new view of thu
seating question.) Sustained BY
whisky and soda and an injection
OF strychnine, he expounded himself
lucidly, carefully and over and owe,
again. It was urgently necessary fol
the public to understand what hac
happened. For a long time the
party had been baffled and non.
plussed by the increasingly eccentri,
behavior Of its leader. He had ar.
rested what was essentially q great
common-sense movement Of the
Anglo-Amertcan people-the com.
mon people
"Eh? What was that?" said on.