Read Online The Avenger 21 - The Happy Killers by Kenneth Robeson - Free Book Online
Authors: Kenneth Robeson
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Then it stalled and rolled back.
Meanwhile, Baby-face and the two other men jumped to help Nailen. At that moment, a figure so gigantic that it must have looked to them like King Kong’s, charged in. It scattered them in all directions.
“Strangle that guy, Cole,” Smitty yelled.
Wilson promptly drew Nailen clear through the car window and threw him to the ground. Smitty, having saved Nellie by sliding the big beam under the wheels just in time, now tore at her bonds to free her.
That was a strategic mistake. The giant should have finished his mopping-up maneuvers. But the sight of Nellie lying there bound was more than he could take. He was crazy about this blond half pint, though wild horses couldn’t have dragged an open admission from him. So his first instinct was to help her.
And in that instant, the three he’d scattered got into the car on the opposite side and slammed the door.
Too late, Smitty jumped for the car to open it. They’d thrown the lock by then. He started to race around the car.
Baby-face leaned out the other side. He brought the butt of his gun down hard on Wilson’s head.
Wilson slumped. Nailen staggered to his feet, shook up but still quite lively. He got into the car and slammed the door just as Smitty got around to that side. He started the motor, while Smitty banged at the window, and gunned it back over the beam.
It turned sharply, smashed through a section of the high board fence, and through the next yard to the street. The unholy four had gotten away.
CHAPTER VIII
Guilty Flight
“You big idiot!” raged Nellie, when the gag was off. “You overgrown numbskull! You—”
“Aw, Nellie,” said Smitty sheepishly. “When I saw you there all tied up—”
“Why didn’t you leave me tied up? Why didn’t you nail those four before you started monkeying with my bonds? That’s the gang that robbed Brown and killed his servant. They murdered the maid, too; you’ll find her up on the second floor in the house. Oh, what I could do to you!”
She stopped. While she was talking she’d been looking anxiously at Smitty’s vast moon face to see if he’d been hurt. Where the giant was concerned, her bark was always much worse than her bite.
A point occurred to her.
“How on earth did you get out here on Long Island so soon?”
Smitty looked sheepish again. “To tell the truth, we were already on our way when you contacted us. We were all done with our job, checking for Brown’s bonds and stocks. So I said to Cole: ‘Look, Nellie’s always getting into a jam. Maybe she’s getting in one now. Let’s start out toward Long Island, where she’s checking railroad stations, and—’ ”
“Why, you . . . you—” Nellie spluttered. “Always getting in jams! So you start after me! You might at least have waited till I yelled for help!”
“If we had this time?” said Cole, rubbing his battered head. He looked at the garage floor where Nellie had lain while a two-ton sedan rolled toward her.
“Well,” said Nellie weakly. She changed the subject.
“We know at least a little something now,” she said. “I can identify the gang that broke into Brown’s place. I know a little of what they did. The leader, called Nailen—”
“Beak Nailen, eh?” said Wilson. “That helps.”
“Nailen played up to the pretty maid at Brown’s,” Nellie went on. “He got her to open the house to him after she’d somehow learned the combination of the wall safe. After she had opened it, she went to the station and got a ticket for Manhattan. But she got off here, proving that she was an amateur, because she thus gave the conductor a chance to remember her.
“She’d intended to go back to Brown’s later, but she got scared. She phoned from a tavern down the line, probably to Nailen’s hang-out, and left word to meet her here at this vacant house. Nailen met her, all right; and he was so angry at her for not following orders, and so scared she’d lose her head and give them
Meanwhile, Baby-face and the two other men jumped to help Nailen. At that moment, a figure so gigantic that it must have looked to them like King Kong’s, charged in. It scattered them in all directions.
“Strangle that guy, Cole,” Smitty yelled.
Wilson promptly drew Nailen clear through the car window and threw him to the ground. Smitty, having saved Nellie by sliding the big beam under the wheels just in time, now tore at her bonds to free her.
That was a strategic mistake. The giant should have finished his mopping-up maneuvers. But the sight of Nellie lying there bound was more than he could take. He was crazy about this blond half pint, though wild horses couldn’t have dragged an open admission from him. So his first instinct was to help her.
And in that instant, the three he’d scattered got into the car on the opposite side and slammed the door.
Too late, Smitty jumped for the car to open it. They’d thrown the lock by then. He started to race around the car.
Baby-face leaned out the other side. He brought the butt of his gun down hard on Wilson’s head.
Wilson slumped. Nailen staggered to his feet, shook up but still quite lively. He got into the car and slammed the door just as Smitty got around to that side. He started the motor, while Smitty banged at the window, and gunned it back over the beam.
It turned sharply, smashed through a section of the high board fence, and through the next yard to the street. The unholy four had gotten away.
CHAPTER VIII
Guilty Flight
“You big idiot!” raged Nellie, when the gag was off. “You overgrown numbskull! You—”
“Aw, Nellie,” said Smitty sheepishly. “When I saw you there all tied up—”
“Why didn’t you leave me tied up? Why didn’t you nail those four before you started monkeying with my bonds? That’s the gang that robbed Brown and killed his servant. They murdered the maid, too; you’ll find her up on the second floor in the house. Oh, what I could do to you!”
She stopped. While she was talking she’d been looking anxiously at Smitty’s vast moon face to see if he’d been hurt. Where the giant was concerned, her bark was always much worse than her bite.
A point occurred to her.
“How on earth did you get out here on Long Island so soon?”
Smitty looked sheepish again. “To tell the truth, we were already on our way when you contacted us. We were all done with our job, checking for Brown’s bonds and stocks. So I said to Cole: ‘Look, Nellie’s always getting into a jam. Maybe she’s getting in one now. Let’s start out toward Long Island, where she’s checking railroad stations, and—’ ”
“Why, you . . . you—” Nellie spluttered. “Always getting in jams! So you start after me! You might at least have waited till I yelled for help!”
“If we had this time?” said Cole, rubbing his battered head. He looked at the garage floor where Nellie had lain while a two-ton sedan rolled toward her.
“Well,” said Nellie weakly. She changed the subject.
“We know at least a little something now,” she said. “I can identify the gang that broke into Brown’s place. I know a little of what they did. The leader, called Nailen—”
“Beak Nailen, eh?” said Wilson. “That helps.”
“Nailen played up to the pretty maid at Brown’s,” Nellie went on. “He got her to open the house to him after she’d somehow learned the combination of the wall safe. After she had opened it, she went to the station and got a ticket for Manhattan. But she got off here, proving that she was an amateur, because she thus gave the conductor a chance to remember her.
“She’d intended to go back to Brown’s later, but she got scared. She phoned from a tavern down the line, probably to Nailen’s hang-out, and left word to meet her here at this vacant house. Nailen met her, all right; and he was so angry at her for not following orders, and so scared she’d lose her head and give them
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