The Stainless Steel Rat eBook Collection by Harry Harrison Page A

forward at the judge’s signal. It was then that The Bishop slowly raised his eyes. The look of withering contempt he directed at the judge would have deterred anyone not as dense as his honour; it was a glare of repulsion that might have destroyed minor life forms.
    But he was standing! The police halted as the large handswent out and seized the solid railing. It creaked as he tugged on it and heaved his giant form up, to stand erect. His head was high as he released the rail and his arms dropped to his sides …
    Now! I stabbed down on the button. The explosions were not loud – but their effect was dramatic. They severed the two bolts that held the edge of the trapdoor in place. Under the great weight of The Bishopthe door swung wide and he plunged down like a missile. I rushed up the ladder as he fell past me – but had time for a last glimpse of the courtroom on the screen.
    There was silence as he vanished from sight. The springs slammed the trapdoor up into position and I pushed the heavy steel bolts into place beneath it. This had happened so fast thatthe horizontal form of The Bishop was still bouncingup and down oh the trampoline when I turned to look. I scurried down the ladder to his side as he finally came to rest, looking up at me with stolid gaze as he spoke.
    ‘Ah, Jim my boy. How nice to see you again.’ He took my proferred hand and I helped him down to the floor. Above us there was pandemonium, shouting and screaming that could be clearly heard through the floor. I permitted myselfone glorious look at the screen, at the pop-eyed judge, the scurrying policemen.
    ‘Very impressive, Jim, very,’ The Bishop said, admiring the scene on the screen as well.
    ‘Right!’ I ordered. ‘Look at it as you strip off your outer clothing. Very little time, explanations will follow.’
    He hesitated not a millisecond but was hurling clothing from him even as the words were clearing my lips. Thegreat rotund form emerged, clothed in tasteful purple undergarments, and he raised his hands above his head at my shouted command. Standing on the ladder I pulled the immense dress down over him.
    ‘Here is the coat,’ I said. ‘Put that on next. Dress touches the ground, so don’t remove shoes. Large hat next, that’s it, mirror and lipstick while I unbolt the door.’
    He did what I said without amurmur of protest. The Bishop had vanished from sight and a lady of truly heroic proportions now emerged. There was a hammering above his head which he completely ignored.
    ‘Let’s go!’ I called out and he minced across the room in a most feminine fashion. I kept the door closed until he reached me and I used those few seconds to fill him in. ‘They’ll be at the cellar stairs by now – but they areblocked. We go the other way.’ I pulled on the policeman’s helmet to go with the uniform I was wearing. ‘You are a prisoner in my custody. We are leaving – now!’
    I took him by the arm and we turned left down the dusty corridor. Behind us there was much crashing and shouting from the blocked stairwell. We hurried on, to the boiler room, and through that to the set of short stairs that rose upto the heavy exit door. With its hinges now greased and lock well oiled, it opened at a touch and we stepped out into the alleyway.
    Not an arm’slength from the back of a policeman who was standing guard there. He was the only one.
    It took only an instant to examine the scene. The narrow alley was open at the far end. There was a dead end behind us. People– and safety – were in the street beyondthe police guard. Then The Bishop climbed up beside me and something grated under his foot. The policeman turned his head to look.
    I could see his eyes widen – as well they might for the lady beside me was an impressive sight. I took advantage of his diverted attention to jump forward and reach out to keep his head turning even more in the same direction. He seized me in strong hands – whichquickly went limp since the