“ You'll take him into custody!”
“Yes, I will,” Mason said. “It’s not generally known, but under the law a private citizen can make an arrest when a felony has in fact been committed and he has reasonable grounds to believe the person he’s arrested has committed the felony.”
“Do you have reasonable grounds?” Drake asked.
“I’ll make them reasonable,” Mason said.
They drove in silence for another half hour. Then Mason said to the driver, “All right, it’s this turn. Get up all the speed you can, then cut out the motor and coast. When you come to the turn on the left, you’ll find a hill. Shut off your headlights and stop at the foot of that hill. We go up on foot.”
The cars roared into speed, then, as the drivers shut off the motors, glided over the mountain road. “Okay,” Mason said, “shut off your headlights and stop.”
The cars slid to a silent stop. Mason got out, and the men gathered about him in a compact little knot.
“All right,” Mason told them, “we go up the road, surround the house. Don’t shoot unless you’re shot at. I’m going in. Don’t let anyone out. I have reason to believe a girl has been kidnapped and that the man in the house did the kidnaping. Don’t use guns unless you have to. Use tear gas first, and clubs.”
“On our way, ” one of the men said.
They climbed the hill. Mason and Drake paused to let the men deploy out into the shadows. The cabin was dark and silent.