Paul Helps Out

Paul and Ken had entered a large automobile with three detectives. One was driving, while the other two talked to the boys. The other cars went west to drive, at the direction of Mr. Grey, a roundabout way. The single auto drove along Main Street. The driver did not use his siren, preferring to proceed quietly and arouse no curiosity. Detective Walters, who was in charge of the detail asked Paul, “You know this fellow Harriman, the grocery store keeper, don’t you? You could easily identify him, couldn’t you?”

“Oh, yes, very easily.”

“Fine, then you and I will enter the store and pick him up. As for you boys,” meaning his fellow policemen, “one of you will cover the front of the house, and the other, the rear of the house. As for you, young fellow,” and he addressed Ken, “you know how to drive a car, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. I drive my dad’s car all the time.”

“That’s fine. You stay in the car. Get behind the wheel and if there is any chasing to do, you will drive the car. Everybody now knows what he is to do?” he asked, looking from one man to the other.

“Yes,” was the answer of all of them.

The boys felt excited. They liked the way Walters treated them. They felt as though they were members of the force with certain jobs assigned to them. They looked forward to doing as well as they could.

The next moment the car came to a halt at the corner across from the grocery store. Paul immediately jumped out of the car with the detectives and Ken at once took his place behind the steering wheel. The detectives carried no rifles as they did not wish to arouse suspicion. They were merely armed with their service revolvers which they held ready in their coat pockets.

Walters waited for his mates to take their places and then he nodded to each one of them in turn. To Paul, he whispered hurriedly, “In case of trouble, take shelter right away; get out of the way of the line of fire. You understand?”

“Yes, sir,” was his meek reply.

Paul felt a wave of excitement. He felt a little anxious and hoped everything would pass off quietly without anyone coming to harm.

Walters, with Paul at his side, started to cross the street toward the grocery store. They mounted the sidewalk and approached the door. Suddenly a shot rang out, fired, so it seemed to Paul, point blank at them. Immediately Walters, with his left hand, shoved Paul to one side and sent him sprawling. As for himself, he dodged behind the wall. Evidently, the grocery man had seen them coming and had realized who they were and what they were up to. And it further seemed that he did not intend to give up without a violent struggle. Walters shouted, “Come on out or we are coming in to get you.”

For an answer another shot rang out. Harriman meant business and no fooling. Walters signalled to his fellow detectives covering the front of the house and the man crawled across the street to the car at the curb. “Duck,” he said to Ken.

Ken complied and lowered himself in the car. The detective took out two rifles, a couple of boxes of ammunition which he shoved into his pocket and a square box. With this load he crept back into position. Suddenly Walters ran across the front of the store and joined him. The next instant a shot rang out. But it was too late. Walters was safe and sheltered by lying flat on the ground behind the curb. “Come on out,” he called for a second time, “or we’ll give you the works.”

Again the answer was a shot. Walters picked up a small stone lying nearby, and, without raising himself, threw it and shattered the window. Several shots rang out and Walters and his mate returned the fire just to impress the gangster.

In the meanwhile, the detective who covered the rear of the house, had also run back of the car, got himself a rifle, a box of cartridges and a square box similar to the one taken by his fellow detective. In an instant he returned to his position.

Walters shouted, “Harriman, if you don’t come out willingly, you’ll be carried out.”

No answer. For several tense moments there was silence. A number of people had collected on the opposite sidewalk and Ken waved to them to get out of the way. The next moment he tore open the square box and took out what looked like a baseball and threw it into the store through the broken window. There was an explosion and a cloud of smoke rose. An instant later, two women burst through the door; they were coughing frantically and rubbing their eyes. One of the women was the wife of the grocery man, the other a customer who by chance had happened to be in the store at the moment. Walters shouted to them, “This way. Come here.”

The other detective took the two women and led them to the automobile. “Stay here,” he told them.

Taking out his revolver, he gave it to Ken and said, “Now be careful. Keep the women here and don’t let them get away. You understand?”

Ken gripped the weapon and nodded, “Yes, sir.”

The detective then stole back to his position. But just then, a cry arose from the rear of the house. Harriman appeared at the back of the house and was surprised by the detective who now shouted to Walters the news. Walters left his mate to cover the front and ran to the empty lot adjoining the corner house. Harriman, in an effort to escape the tear gas inside the store, rushed out of the rear door and took a position behind a cluster of bricks that seemed to form a very natural fortress. He was cornered, but it seemed that he refused to surrender without a violent struggle. It also seemed that he was very well armed, having two revolvers and plenty of ammunition.

Shots continued to ring out in an exchange of fire. Walters looked around for a way of getting at the gangster’s rear. There was only one way and that was through the house. But immediately Walters realized that to move out of his shelter behind a tree would take him into the open and make of him a very simple target. It occurred to him that he was now just as well cornered as his prey and that the only alternative was to shoot it out, unless of course the detective left to guard the front of the house took the initiative and got at Harriman’s rear.

Now let us see what happened to Paul in the meanwhile. When Walters pushed him and sent him sprawling, he was on the side of the house facing Main Street. He wondered what he could do. His investigation several days before had revealed to him the door at the rear of the house. But he thought that the grocery man, realizing the odds against him, would certainly surrender. He had no idea that Harriman would be so stubborn and defy the policemen. But he did. And the more Paul waited for the gangster to surrender, the more he realized that the grocery store keeper was bent on violence. After the barrage of tear gas and the cry announcing the gangster at the rear of the house, he lifted himself slightly off the ground and made sure of the exact spot where Harriman had barricaded himself.

Thinking quickly, he rushed to the corner and waved to the detective, hoping that the man would understand what he was up to. The next moment he rushed into the hall of the house where the stairs were leading upstairs. He figured that there must be a door leading from the hall into the store. But he didn’t want to get into the store. And he tried to think how Harriman had escaped from the store to the rear of the house. He looked around. There was only one door at the end of the hall. Approaching noiselessly, he pulled the door open. To his complete amazement, he was directly behind the gangster who was absorbed by the fire of the detectives. Without hesitating or giving Harriman a chance to realize his danger, Paul let out a most horrible shriek and threw himself on the gangster. Harriman looked up, his face pale and frightened. He turned to fire at Paul, but it was too late. The boy was already on top of him and pinning his arms.

Harriman was a bulky, strong individual. With Paul on top of him, he rose and was on the point of whirling his assailant off. But by this time the two detectives were also on top of him and pinned his arms. Paul slipped off the gangster’s back. In an instant Walters slapped handcuffs on the gangster. Turning to Paul, he cried, “You fool!”

Paul smiled and appeared quite calm and confident. Walters slapped him on the back and together they escorted the criminal to the automobile, while the other detective began to pick up Harriman’s guns and ammunition.