The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1940-12-12
CHAPTER FoRTY-sEvEN

NriAt EN- rOtNl 1-SEN EN-
GUN SAT by the window OF the
bedroom that had been set aside
for him at the Nest and gazed over
the melancholy landscape, while he
listened to the faint sound Of peo-
pie arriving for the meeting below.
II was almost eleven at night,
and there would have been bright
moonlight outside had II not been
diffused by the curtain of smoky
clouds that hung overhead. 1t had
been raining. too, and there was
faint mist coming up from the
marshes. while through the open
window came the drip-drip OF
moisture from the trees.
The faint light that percolated
through the clouds showed wild
and desolate landscape-fiat and
uninviting, with only a stunted
tree or a ramshackle hut here and
there to break the monotony be-
fore il faded into a sort Of vague
miasma. The air that came through
the window was dank and chill
and apart from the dripping Of the
moisture, the silence outside was
unhroken except for the occa-
sional dreary, raucor7 cry Of a
lonely screech owl.
Gun thought IL all looked very
much like a sort Of half-world-
the kind of place that some spirit
ualists imagined as the locale of
discarnate souls that had Just
passed over" And as he felt there
was some likelihood of his under
going that rather discomposing
process in the very near future
watson, for instance, would be
present at the meeting, and Wat
son knew him welll he refused to
contemplate it any longer, and
turned back into the room, hum
ming as he did so: waiting, wait
ing, waiting. always bloody well
waiting" an old army doggerel
that had a very apt application to
the present in his case He seemed
to have been waiting almost ever
since he had embarked on this con-
founded job.
He glanced at his watch. Five
TO eleven. The meeting was due to
begin at eleven, and the police, al
ready unobtrusively surrounding
the place, were due to close in at
eleven-twenty. What a bag!
But that was when the trouble
would start-when the police came.
And that little fool Coral would be
there.
But at that thought Gun smiled
he had something unexpected for
Coral.
A tap at the door, and voice:
They're all downstairs, and
waiting for you, Captain"
Good! I'll be down right now"
At the head OF the stairs Coral
was waiting. She was looking even
more than usually charming. AS
they went down together, she
whispered:
"All set %
$50 far as I know. I hope so, at
any rate. But you should know
more about it than LATER all.
you took the necessary informa-
ton up to London"
She nodded, and then said in the
same tone:
But these people haven't brok-
en- the law yet-no crime has been
committed. So what can be done,
even when they're arrested p"
Guns expression was grim as he
answered.:
You've forgotten one thing.
They pirated a plane-and they
made the mistake Of killing the
crew Of threei That's where we
get 'em, think"
"Ah! see!"
The room was the dining room
a long, low-ceilinged apartment,
with door at either end.
There were fifteen men present
as they entered, looking very much
like a city board meeting, as they
sat around the long table-except
for a certain diversity in dress,
some being in evening attire, and
others .variously dressed.
Gun looked around, and sized
them up. Stein, the millionaire,
was at the head of the table. as