On the main road into Rye, Labar had his attention drawn to an antiquated Ford which he thought that he recognised. As he suspected, it contained Malone. The big sergeant was out and at the doorway of the Assistant Commissioner's car in a trice. "I was hoping to catch you, sir," he said addressing Labar. "A stumer, I suppose?" questioned Winter. "No, it was the straight tip. We were too late to do anything ourselves, but one of the Kent men has pretty well blown Billy Bungey's head off with a shot gun. Billy's as dead a man as ever you saw." "And Larry?" interjected Labar. "Larry was in the shemozzle, but there were only two constables and he plugged the one who laid Billy out. The other gave him both barrels but he doubts if he so much as winged him. Larry held him and the farmer at bay with his automatic, and backed into a field of standing corn. Neither of them cared to follow him without more help. By the time that arrived there was nothing to find except his tracks through the corn which came out on this road. I've sent men the other way and we were seeing if we could pick up any trace in this direction." A few quick questions made the matter clear. A couple of men detailed to patrol the road had received information from a farmhand of two strangers moving about the outbuildings of a farm. Their movements had, in light of the mysterious police doings information of which had spread over the marsh, struck him as suspicious. The two policemen, without waiting for more, had rushed to search the place. Rounding a haystack one of them had come face to face with Billy Bungey. They were perhaps a couple of yards apart. As the gunman raised his automatic the policeman fired. Billy dropped forward half his head shot away, and it was then that Larry Hughes came into view round the haystack and shot the policeman through the shoulder. The other had been held at bay until Larry could make good his escape. Then the wounded man had been assisted into the farmhouse, and in the queer way that rumour spreads, news of the adventure had reached Malone. "Carry on, Malone," ordered Winter. "We can get into Rye in ten minutes and send out help. We'll keep an eye in this direction." It was necessary to get to Rye also to assume direction of the telegraphic and telephonic communications of the hunt. Assured that Larry was still within close reach, Labar ached to take some physical part in the hunt. Had he been alone it was probable that he would have dropped all other considerations to do so. But the presence of his two superiors deterred him from any such suggestion.