At the corner of York Street, when the police cars arrived, they stopped and Mr. Grey had issued instructions. Four of the detectives he instructed to take up varying positions across the street from the house which led to the secret door. Accompanied by three more policemen and Jack, he went to 752 York Street. The detectives he told to deploy around the house and Jack he warned to keep out of the way. On second thought, he turned to Jack and said, “You go back there and watch those automobiles.”
Reluctantly, Jack went to obey and sat himself in the second car. He wanted to be in on the action, but he realized why the government agent wanted him out of the way.
The detectives were armed with rifles and sub-machine guns. Mr. Grey looked around to see if all his men were in position. He gave the signal for all of them to be on the alert. Gripping his revolver, he entered the empty house and left the door open. Noiselessly, he opened the trap door and descended the stairs. The cellar was lit up and that told him that the gangsters were there. As far as he knew, Joe and Pete were surely there, but he didn’t know whether Moonshine Charlie himself was there. He paused to listen, and only the voices of the two reached him. For several seconds he debated with himself whether to wait until the arrival of the boss. On the other hand, he thought, he might seize the two and then let Moonshine Charlie walk into a trap.
Descending noiselessly, he came to the bottom of the stairs. The two gangsters were at the table, Pete with his right side toward Mr. Grey and Joe having his back toward the agent. Mr. Grey levelled his gun and muttered threateningly, “Put your hands up, boys. Quick. Reach for the ceiling and no monkey business.”
The two gangsters jumped to their feet and put their hands up above their heads. Pete cried, “What the—What’s all this about?”
“You’ll find out right away,” was the answer. Mr. Grey saw them edging toward the back of the table and he warned them, “Don’t you move or I’ll plug you.”
But the next instant Pete turned over the table with his leg and the two gangsters threw themselves behind it. Mr. Grey fired, the bullet burying itself in the wooden table. Pete fired back and the government agent threw himself on the floor and crept behind the stairs for protection. “The house is surrounded,” he told them. “You had better surrender if you want to get out alive.”
Pete tossed back, “Like hell!”
He fired and Mr. Grey returned. Pulling the table along, they moved gradually back toward the secret door. The government agent realized that their escape through the tunnel into the next house was safe and sure; there was nothing he could do about it. So he let them work their way gradually back. Joe raised his arms to pull open the door and the next moment he grabbed it away, letting out a yell. Mr. Grey had fired and the bullet had pierced the gangster’s hand. But the door was now ajar, and in a moment they pulled it open and escaped.
Mr. Grey ran forward and whatever he could find, he piled up against the door, shutting off their return into the cellar. The gangsters were now trapped in the second house. The government man ran up the stairs, and cautiously emerged from the house, to make sure his own men did not fire on him. Coming out into the open, he directed his men to close up on the house.