“Give him a crack on the noodle and drag him in,” called the man at the wheel of the sedan. He started to get out of the car and Bob knew that between the two of them they would be able to overpower him. “You asked for it,” he muttered as his right swung in a short, hard chop that landed on the red-head’s solar plexus. The blow caught the other man napping and doubled him up. Bob was ready for him and a hard cross with his left to the chin ended all thoughts of a fight which might have been in the other’s head. “Hey, you,” yelled the driver. “You can’t get away with that.” Bob saw him reaching for his back pocket and tugging at something. That decided Bob, who felt sure the other was reaching for a gun. Putting his hands on the fence, Bob vaulted the iron barrier. He landed in the tangle of barberry, but the shrubbery was so tall that he crashed through and a protecting thicket shielded him from the eyes of the man on the other side of the fence. Without waiting to see what was happening in the street, Bob beat his way through the shrubbery. The thorns tore at his clothes and his hands were soon streaked with scratches, but his thought was to get as far away as possible in the shortest time. Chapter XIV SPECIAL AGENT NINE ★ As Bob clawed his way through the dense shrubbery there was a sharp explosion behind him. Whether it was a shot or the exhaust of the sedan was something he didn’t stop to find out. When he was finally clear of the barberry, Bob found himself in a small, open yard in front of the house, which was heavily shuttered and evidently unoccupied. But Bob wasted no time in reconnoitering the house. He kept on going, running around to the rear. The iron fence enclosed the whole property but there was a gate and he made for this. A heavy padlock secured the gate, but Bob scrambled over without tearing his clothes and dropped into the alley. From far behind on the other street he could hear the heavy roar of an exhaust and he ducked into a half opened garage on the other side of the alley for he had no intention of being caught out in the open. When the noise of the exhaust finally died away, Bob went back into the alley. A walk of a block and a half brought him to a thoroughfare and he hailed a passing cab, directing that he be taken to the Department of Justice building. Once inside the cab, Bob sat back to take stock of the damage which the thorns of the barberry had done to his hands. There were half a dozen raw angry scratches and innumerable little snags in his suit from the prickly stuff. When he thought of what had happened in the last few minutes, Bob frankly admitted that he was at a loss to account for it. Why should he be singled out for an attack by a couple of hoodlums? Why should someone attempt to enter his room in the night? Perhaps his uncle would have the key to answers when he met him.