Vague things happened about him. People moved. People whispered. People murmured…
‘Everybody been got out?’
‘The bomb—any one found it?’
‘S’pose we’re far enough off?’
Silence. Only the night and the stars again. Then:
‘What about the Indian?’
‘No thanks! A bit too risky!’
‘Yes, but anybody seen him?’
‘Ain’t he dead?’
One of the stars moved. It seemed to separate itself from its neighbours and flash across the blackness.
‘Oi—don’t do that!’ thought Ben. A dull sound answered him…
‘Boom!’
Something descended near him, with a little, unnatural flop. It was a fragment of brick. A few seconds ago it had been a portion of a garage. Ben sat up suddenly.
‘’Ere—wot’s ’appenin’?’ he gasped.
He found himself staring into two soft eyes. The strength that had shot him up into a sitting position left him as suddenly as it had come. The owner of the eyes was speaking to him. What was she saying?
‘Lie down again.’ The voice was even softer than the eyes. ‘Lie down. Everything’s safe.’
He obeyed. The grass seemed warmer, somehow. And the stars seemed brighter. And the tension that held the world together seemed to be relaxing.
Ben lay very silent, staring up into the enigma of space and wondering what it all meant, while cool fingers touched his forehead. And then Ben ceased to wonder. For that is the greatest enigma of all. A woman’s touch, even on a battered brow, can dispel the need of inquiry.
THE END
THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB
‘THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB is a clearing house for the best detective and mystery stories chosen for you by a select committee of experts. Only the most ingenious crime stories will be published under the THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB imprint. A special distinguishing stamp appears on the wrapper and title page of every THE DETECTIVE STORY CLUB book—the Man with the Gun. Always look for the Man with the Gun when buying a Crime book.’—Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1929
Now the Man with the Gun is back in this series of COLLINS CRIME CLUB reprints, and with him the chance to experience the classic books that influenced the Golden Age of crime fiction.
LIST OF TITLES
THE PERFECT CRIME • ISRAEL ZANGWILL
CALLED BACK • HUGH CONWAY
THE MYSTERY OF THE SKELETON KEY
BERNARD CAPES
THE GRELL MYSTERY • FRANK FROEST
DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE • R. L. STEVENSON
THE RASP • PHILIP MACDONALD
FURTHER TITLES IN PREPARATION
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