Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1940-05-16

/
peared to be stumbling, heavy-per-
haps his hurt leg was bothering him
again.
They started. Sheila heard Peter
snoring in the back seat. Snow flut-
tered down, down, down upon the
| black city streets and the shining
| wet tracks under the elevated road
and the garbage cans aligned before
| the humble tenement doorways.
She knew it was Peter snoring,
because Inky was perched upon one
| of the small seats, his breath, heavy
with garlic and wine, at her ear.
..Now you and me have got to be
talking" Ken said. Because if any
one stops us, I'm taking you up to
your mother in White Plains"
"In the Bronx" she corrected.
ooh, you amt going home yet"
he said. ''But don't you worry
you'll get there. Nothing's going to
happen to you."
"Only not to pull nothing" Inky
said persuasively, at her ear.
81 wouldn't know how to pull any
thing!" Sheila said simply.
mo, you just do like ask you to"
Ken observed encouragingly, "and
you'll be all right"
"That was an awful smart thing
you did, Ken, about that Boston
stuff" Inky presently observed.
"It may work." he said briefly.
"eWork! It's gotta work" the other
man said. "Pipe the bulls there!"
he added.
CHOW isten," Ken said sharply to
Sheila, in a quickened voice. "You
don't know anything. You're going
up to see your sick mother . :"
They had left the city and we're
on one of the long lonely roads that
skirt the eastern bank of the Hud-
son. Sheila, looking ahead, saw a
police-box in the pink futter of snow
against lights, and two capped men
standing there.
The two policemen came out in
the 1uttering snow, and the lights
of the car picked them up; they
waited for it to reach them. Ken
leaned out.
white Plains?" he shouted.
The car stopped.
''White Plains?" Ken shouted
again.
The policemen looked at him,
looked at Sheila.
you've got swell night for
trip" one of the men said
"Wife's mother SICK" Ken ex-
planned.
That was all. One of the officers
pointed with capped arm; straight
ahead. Ken started the car, they
were moving again.
well, we got away with that!"
Ken presently remarked with great
satisfaction, and Sheila was able to
breathe again. AS long as he was
pleased she was safe. Peter was still
snoring, Snoring-what nerves he
must have to 60 to sleep under
these circumstances!
They had come to roadside res
taurant, or inn; Sheila could not
make out quite what the big square
building was, for it showed no lights.
What light there was came from an
enormous truck, at the door. The
snow was still falling, but less dense
ly; the truck had stood there some
time, for there were no tracks ahead
of it or behind it.
Men sprang down from it, or APP
peared suddenly from the house,
and there was hurried, undertoned
colloquy. Sheila, shaking with cold,
wrapping her coat tightly about her
and beating her hands against her
sides, heard Ken say, "She oughter
have something to eat, anyway"
But there was objection to this.
Her heart failed her. She was ex-
hausted to the. point of tears. And
all the time that she sat on the front
seat, awaiting their verdict, trem-
bling with fatigue, she could hear
Peter snore
"All right, all right" Ken ex-
claimed suddenly. And coming
about to Sheila, he said, opening the
door of the car, "Get out, and hold
onto me. You may be stiff. Keep
that rug"
Broken, cramped, weak with hun
ger and cold and WEAKNESS, Sheila
tottered out; Ken steadied her or
she would have fallen. Everything
seemed to be circling about her in
the sharp black contrasts of the
snow and the night, and the faces of
the huddled men, shrewdly watch
ing her, looked ominous.
Get in the back of the truck
here" Ken said.
She clutched his arm. He was no
friend of hers, but at least he was
closer to her than these murderous-
looking strangers.
''Listen-I'm so tired
"You haven't got far, now. They
amt going to hurt you," he NUT
tered gruf1y. Get in there and
wrap that other thing round you,
too. Sit with your back against that
box, you'll be all right"
Immediately Peter was half-lifted
and half-shoved in against her.
Hands reached for tumble of foul
smelling old conforters and quilts.
and inStinctivelv she eased Peter's