Evening star., 1940-08-28
n merely nodded his head and

alley was well behind .hem. As
they sped past the first intersection
they could hear the shrill scream of
police whistle. followed almost
Immediately by the frightening howl
f! of siren. But in a matter of mo-
ments the sounds were lost in the
distance. They slowed TO normal
speed and drove on toward the CEN
ter of the city.
Make Their Escape.
They were confident al last that
they were not being pursued and
| Tom pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
gave Jiggs one and lit them both.
Not until then did he notice the
bandage around Jiggs' right nard.
He pointed to it, his mouth full of
smoke, his brows knit together in
deep frown.
YEAH" Jiggs said. Il was gonna
tell you about that. Some guy in
the alley. 1t was so dark I couldn t
see him hardly at all, but he pulled
knife and 1 swung at him. Didn't
hit him, but my paw nickel the
edge of his knife"
Tom pounded one hand against
the other explosively, the ashes
from his cigarette falling onto his
knee. That must have been the
same one!" he exclaimed. "Of
course-man, I wish you'd caught
him"
II don't get you, Tom"
Tom drew deeply on his cigarette,
exhaled with a kind of sigh "Of
/ course not" he said But when I
/ got to the office everything was
black as the ace of spades. The
rear door hadn't been locked. but
thought that was an oversight.
| could barely make out The cop
on guard at the front door and !
was certain no one was in the
office. So walked right in. Then
l heard some one draw in his breath,
/ sharp with almost a hiss, and the
next thing knew I got a wallop in
| the stomach that doubled me right
over. I felt some one goins past
me and put out my foot, but il
/ was too late. He was through the
office door and out of sight in the
/ corridor leading back to the alley
/ I knew I couldn't catch rim so I
| didn't even try. Anyway, / wanted
to see what he'd been doing
Head for Airport.
Jiggs drove slowly, intent on the
story. When Tom pufed over
long on his cigarette, Jiggs prompt
ed him. Did you find out any,
thing?"
"Yes, I found out that he'd re-
moved something from the little
table that was against the wall near
where I found Steve. don't know
what he removed but there was a
narrow little panel open in the back
side fooled around with it a mo-
ment and then accidentally pushed
1t shut again. And then no matter
what the devil I did, 1 couldn't get
it open again.
They had stopped for a red light
and before going on with his story
Tom told Jiggs to drive out toward
the airport. The green light came
on, the car started up, and Tom
continued
Il didn't dare strike a match and
couldn't see anything but vague
outlines of the stuff in the room, so
Just rummaged around the desk
for a while and finally found this
little notebook" He pulled a
small, leather-bound pad from his
inside coat pocket. He meditatively
filcked the pages as he added: Then
l decided to clear out while the
clearing was good. I hadn't counted
on 1t being so darned dark in there. "
They drove in silence for several
miles, Tom thumbing through the
little book, grunting from time to
time and shaking his head as If the
contents were anything but clear. At
last they were near the airport and
Tom laid his hand on Jiggs' arm.
How bad is that hand, Jiggs?'
Not bad. It's stopped bleedin'
! and the pains all gone
Tells Jiggs of Note.
Tom spoke thoughtfully, weigh
ing each word. i've got to get
word to Chris-shell be worried sick.
1 wish you'd go to the airline Office
and call her long distance. Try not
to mention my name when you're
talking to her, but in any case let
her know I'm all right"
Sure thing, Tom" Jiggs coughed
to cover the slight crack in his
voice. BY tacit consent and. pos
sibly, their Irish natures, they had
always left mention of their inner
feelings and emotions completely
out of their conversations.
They were approaching a cross
roads and Tom indicated a tree on
the far corner. Let me out at that
tree. III wait there for you"
AS Jiggs pulled the car off to the
side of the road near the tree, Tom
reached in his pocket and pulled
out crump1ed slip of paper. iii
| give you Chris number" he said,
! taking a pencil from another pocket.
With tlH car door open and one
foot on the running board he start
ed to write the number on the slip
of paper; then abruptly he stopped
He held up the paper, turned it
over, then passed it to Jiggs. The
glow from the dashlight Illuminated
| the words written on it. Most
urgent push rose Ax427 bring ming
Bongkong 20 grand"
Jiggs read it over twice, shook
his head. That don't mean
nothin' to me-" he said.
Nor to me-" Tom replied. But
it must mean something. So must
Steve's refusal to answer my long
distance call from Chicago just be-
fore came West. So must that DR..
Cranky with his Oriental manner
and his talon f1ngernail. So must
Steve's strange telegram, Please
come quickly That didn't sound
like Steve at all"
Tom took the slip again and wrote
Chris number on the back. Then
he gave it to Jiggs and climbed out