Battle, Superintendent (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Detective and mystery stories; Police -- England -- Fiction
"Hallo, Bundle, there you are. Now then, we've got to get down to it.
Where's the key of the room you got into last time?"
"It was one of the downstairs keys. We'd better bring the lot up."
"Right you are, but be quick. Time's short."
The key was easily found, the baize-lined door swung back and the three
entered. The room was exactly as Bundle had seen it before, with the
seven chairs grouped round the table. Jimmy surveyed it for a minute or
two in silence. Then his eye went to the two cupboards.
"Which is the cupboard you hid in, Bundle?"
"This one."
Jimmy went to it and flung the door open. The same collection of
miscellaneous glassware covered the shelves.
"We shall have to shift all this stuff," he murmured. "Run down and
get Bill, Loraine. There's no need for him to keep watch outside any
longer."
Loraine ran off.
"What are you going to do?" inquired Bundle impatiently.
Jimmy was down on his knees, trying to peer through the crack of the
other cupboard door.
"Wait till Bill comes and you shall hear the whole story. This is his
staff work--and a jolly creditable bit of work it is. Hallo--what's
Loraine flying up the stairs for as though she'd got a mad bull after
her?"
Loraine was indeed racing up the stairs as fast as she could. She burst
in upon them with an ashen face and terror in her eyes.
"Bill--Bill--oh, Bundle--Bill!"
"What about Bill?"
Jimmy caught her by the shoulder.
"For God's sake, Loraine, what's happened?"
Loraine was still gasping.
"Bill--I think he's dead--he's in the car still--but he doesn't move or
speak. I'm sure he's dead."
Jimmy muttered an oath and sprang for the stairs, Bundle behind
him, her heart pounding unevenly and an awful feeling of desolation
spreading over her.
Bill--dead? Oh, no! Oh, no! Not that. Please God--not that.
Together she and Jimmy reached the car, Loraine behind them.
Jimmy peered under the hood. Bill was sitting as he had left him,
leaning back. But his eyes were closed and Jimmy's pull at his arm
brought no response.
"I can't understand it," muttered Jimmy. "But he's not dead. Cheer up,
Bundle. Look here, we've got to get him into the house. Let's pray to
goodness no policeman comes along. If anybody says anything, he's our
sick friend we're helping into the house."
Between the three of them they got Bill into the house without much
difficulty, and without attracting much attention, save for an unshaven
gentleman, who said sympathetically:
"Genneman's 'ad a couple, I shee," and nodded his head sapiently.
"Into the little back room downstairs," said Jimmy. "There's a sofa
there."
They got him safely on to the sofa and Bundle knelt down beside him and
took his limp wrist in her hand.
"His pulse is beating," she said. "What _is_ the matter with him?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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