Free Killer's Town by Lee Falk Page A

the Sign of the Skull—the Phantom! He's here!" shouted Moogar, his eyes wide with terror.
While Koy and his men were looking at Gutsy in the cage, the Phantom and Caroline were lying flat on the sloping tile roof, only a few yards away in the darkness. They clung to the peak of the roof, side by side, and could hear the voices of the men. Caroline began to tremble. Her arms ached.
"Oh," she sighed.
"Shh," warned her unknown companion.
"I'm slipping," she whispered, feeling weak and dizzy.
The ground was four stories below. The tiles were slippery. Her fingers and hands were numb. She clung with all her strength, but felt her fingers starting to lose their grip.
"Help me," she whispered in sudden panic but before she'd finished the brief sentence, a strong arm grasped her back, holding her firmly against the roof. She sighed, feeling secure and safe. The arm was like iron. Her cheek was against the cool tile, but she could hear the men's voices, so near, getting louder, angrier.
"Who's playing games here?" said Koy. That cage was locked. I had the only key—"
Sport turned his flashlight on the lock. They stared: It was obvious what had happened. The heavy iron lock had been twisted off as though it were tin foil, as if by a giant hand. And on the lock—that mark again—the skull!
"Like I told you, it's the Phantom's mark," said Moogar.
"Will you shut up that talk about phantoms, you loony!" shouted Koy, hitting him hard with the back of his hand. Moogar fell against the window.
"Get Gutsy outa that cage. Bring him to. Find out what happened to him," said Koy.
"What about the girl?" said Fats.
"What about her, you stupid tub of lard? Find her. Find that guy with the sunglasses," shouted Koy. A few men had gathered below in the street. Word had gotten around about the cage. Pretty was down there with Frenchy and Dutch, and the rest.
"Hey, Moogar," yelled Pretty. "What's going on up there?"
Moogar leaned out of the window, nursing his jaw where Koy had hit him.
"Girl's gone. Phantom did it. Phantom's here," he shouted.
"What?"
Koy slammed Moogar against the wall, his heavy hands ut his throat.
"Any more of that jungle rot out of you, and you're a dead duck. You got that?"
Moogar choked and nodded. Koy banged his head against the wall, then turned away from him.
"Watch that dumb idiot," he said to Sport. "If he makes any trouble, finish him." The men left the room carrying Gutsy. Moogar looked again at the Skull Mark on the lock, then followed. No question about it. That was the mark. The Phantom was somewhere nearby.
The casino and bar were empty now. Men were milling around in the big lobby, aware that Greasy and Gutsy had been laid out by somebody. But who?
As they descended the stairs to the office, carrying the heavy Gutsy, Koy gave his orders to Eagle.
"Get all our guys out with guns to find the girl and the guy with sunglasses. How far can they get?"
"How about all the rest of the guys?"
"Keep them in the bar and casino. We don't need them, we need their dough," said Koy.
But when they reached the lobby, it was filled with men from the bar and casino. They were buzzing with the mystery of the girl and the cage.
"Hey, Koy, where's the redhead?" yelled Pretty.
"None of your business," said Koy. "Now all of you guys get back to the bar and casino and have fun. This is nothing to bother anybody."
All watched as Gutsy was carried down the stairs into Koy's office.
"Yeah? Who laid him out?" said Pretty.
"I told you, none of your business," snapped Koy. "Maybe it is our business if somebody's taking potshots at the guys," said Finger. "We're paying for protection here."
"Right! Paying and paying!" yelled Frenchy.
"You can say that again," said Ossie.
Koy looked around. He was facing a possible riot, but his own men were in the doorways with rifles now—Fats, Sport, Banana, Scarface, Slim, and Spaghetti.
    "You got protection. Any complaints?" he said, and his
men raised their rifles. Frenchy, Ossie, Fingers, and the others