The Wilmington morning star., 1940-11-15
CHAPTER TWENTY-E1GHI

CHAPTER TWENTY-E1GEI
The day passed as usual IN tn' -
most unutterable boredom ana niono
tonv. with nothing to do but s'a, l.,
.t each other, or wander alfniessis
about their enclosure. IonihiS,
he himself had said, was no n.sl
brow, and all topics OF conVessa.iGl e;r
other than the eternal one oi .n :.
nosition. and what to do ABOUT H.
had, been exhausted days ago.
At eight o'clock in the evening 'he
.,ard came with their rations. once
more Gun received them alone anu
the guard slipped scrap Oh paper
into his hand.
Gun read it, with apparent eau
t;on. Only a few words:
"when you're ready, tell the guaro
at the gate, and he will fetch me-
Drink your water first, ana theii Sip
this pellet into H's.-I.
The pellet was evidently some
drug to ensure that Tommy would
sleep quickly and soundly. uui.
grinned. wrapped the fragment OF
paper around it once more, ana SIP
nod if into his waistcoat pocket
There might be use for it yet!
As they devoured their ration ne
reported progress to Tommy, VINO
already was beginning to get excited
at the prospect of, as he put 1t, nav
ing something real to eat"
By nine o'clock, as was their GUS
tom, they were in their tent. After
a quarter Of an hour Gun whispered:
I'm off now, Tommy. And I'll get
that meal for you, whatever hap
pens"
And Tommy whispered back:
90. K, brother. Good hunting!
Gun crept outside the tent, and
there paused for a moment to make
sure that his little flash lamp and
the automatic were in their places,
concealed about his person. The
former, he surmised, was likely to
be the most useful.
Then, as silently as any shadow
of night, he crept down to the gate
and made a kissing noise. 1t was
answered almost Immediately by the
guard, who came close to the fence.
"Tell Mr.. Trentp'
"Ouri, m'sieur!'
The guard, who had evidently got
his instructions, vanished silently
into the darkness. So this one was
a Frenchman! A polyglot crew, this.
Out of the darkness two shadows
thickened into the shape of human
beings, and Trent's voice came, in a
whisper:
Did you give him the pill?"
Gun answered in the affirmative.
"Then he'll be all right for some
hours! I'm going to open the gate
now - but no fooling, mind, or you'll
be as dead as mutton
It's all right - I'm not fooling,'' -
was Guns sullen reply.
The tate was opened, and he slip
ped out. Immediately he felt the
hard pressure of pistol muzzle in
the small of his back, and a guiding
hand laid from behind on his elbow.
"Off you go-and no nonsense"
came Trent's command.
Gun obeyed without a word.
They walked along a path which
led, Gun knew, to a gate in the high
wooden fence which blocked the
southern view from the bungalow.
Exactly where he wanted to go.
There was no guard at the gate
in the fence. 1t was ajar, but when
they were through, Trent kicked it
to behind them, and Gun heard the
snap Of spring lock.
He was concentrating now on try
Ing to see as much as he could. He
had keen eyes, but there was onlv a
faint light from the stars. A couple
of long, low buildings that he guess
ed to be workshops, and beyond that
three obvious hangers. These oc-
cupied two sides of big yard. The
third side was occupied by a row of
detached buildings that looked like
offices and living quarters. Gun
could see that the yard was Uttered
with all the junk Of an airplane fac
tory. Old wings, undercarriages and
other airplane parts. Trent was
hurrying him along, so that he
couldn't see as much as he would
have liked.
Here we are" Trent's hand on
his arm checked him, and the pistol
muzzle was removed from his back,
These are my quarters-get in.
side"