Free Killer's Town by Lee Falk Page B

looked at each other.
"Okay, Koy," said Fingers. "What do you want us to do?"
"Nothing. Go back to the bar and casino. Enjoy yourselves."
"Sure, lose your money to Roy's crooked table," said Pretty. Koy glared at the smiling "mad dog." He was asking for it. Then Moogar stepped up and took Pretty's arm.
"Come, kid," he said. "Like he said, have fun. While you can."
"What do you mean by that?"
Til tell you," said Moogar, pulling him away.
The men drifted back into the bar and casino. Koy's riflemen moved into the street, searching dark corners for the girl and the man with sunglasses.
On the roof, the Phantom had pulled the girl up so that they were now straddling the apex. There were no lights near them; they could not be seen from below.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
"A friend of your father's," he whispered back.
"Are you in the Patrol?"
"In a way."
He turned away from her as he removed his hat and sunglasses. When he turned back, she was amazed to see that his head was hooded and his eyes masked. She gasped.
"Are you a thief?"
"No. Shh." He pointed down.
Below they could see Koy's men with rifles, moving through the dimly lighted street. Now she watched as he removed his scarf and topcoat, folding them and laying them over the apex of the roof. Then he wiggled slightly, removing his trousers. She stared. In the semi-darkness, she could see a powerful form, clad in a skintight dark costume and boots. Guns on either hip were in holsters hanging from a broad gunbelt. There was an insignia on the belt, but she couldn't make it out. It was all so weird. Who was this man? Did her father have friends who wore masks? In spite of everything, she began to giggle. He quickly covered her mouth with a big hand.
"Shh," he said.
"Sorry," she whispered. "It's all so strange up here with you."
He nodded, then took her arm. They started to work their way across the roof, then suddenly stopped. He point- cd down. Two of the riflemen were moving in the dark alley just below them. The masked man held her until the riflemen were gone.
"Ml be tough getting off this roof," he told her softly. They had gotten onto the roof from the top of the cage. They couldn't go back that way. Too exposed. At the side, above the alley, there was a balcony at the second-floor level. But how could they reach that from this slippery tile roof? While he considered this, a soft voice spoke behind them. The girl was amazed at the stranger's reaction. At the sound of the first soft syllable—almost before the sound, it seemed to her—the stranger had a gun in his hand, taken from the holster in a movement too fast to follow with the eye. They looked back. Just over the apex of the roof, the matted hairy head of Matthew Crumb peered at them,
"This way," he whispered.
They made their way along the apex to him. His head was sticking out of a skylight that had been covered with tiles like the roof. He disappeared from sight. The Phantom peered into the opening, lowered the girl into it, then dropped into it himself. They were in an attic room, filled with musty old trunks, broken furniture, the dust of years. The renovators had never reached this place.
"I watched," said Matthew Crumb softly. "This sweet girl, the daughter of the Colonel of the Jungle Patrol. You called me sir. I always liked the Patrol. And you, you said you were my friend." the garrulous old man stopped, seeing the strange costume for the first time.
"But I saw you climb onto the roof. Are you the same man?"
"I am your friend. 88
The old man nodded happily. Yes, that was the voice.
"These are evil men, and they planned to hurt this sweet child," he continued.
"We know," said the Phantom. "There's a balcony on the second floor. Can you show us the way?"
They followed him quietly through the empty corridors. There were snores from a few rooms, but they met no one. They reached a closed door. The Phantom, gun in hand, opened it slowly and peered in. It was empty.
"Thank you. We'll meet again, friend