the avenger

Several thousand people are gathered for the opening of the new Riverford tunnel, which cuts through South Mountain. It had eventually cost twice as much money as was planned for it as the engineers ran in to all kinds of trouble and advised the council more than once to abandon the idea. But now the tunnel is finished it will be well worth it relieving traffic congestion and making it easier to get into the city on the South side. The tunnel commissioner, Jonas Anderson drove set off to drive the first car through the tunnel but several minutes later he still had not appeared leaving no sign of him or his car.

Simon is asking Pierre to let him have some of his furs but Pierre is reluctant as he clearly states that Mr. Jenkins the Game Warden would be suspicious if his best trapper Pierre suddenly wasnt trapping many furs. And besides Pierre thinks Simon wants to buy his furs for crooked dealing. Whilst they are arguing they notice somebody slumped over Dead Mans Rock in the distance and it turns out to be Jenkins the Game Warden stabbed in the back.

Casper Hudson has gone to visit Madame Yamina, gypsy fortuneteller but when he crosses her palm with silver she cries that the coin is cursed and that he is doomed and demands that he go away, gets out of sight and that he has no future.

Hollis Fermont has a gambling debt of $35000 to settle and is planning to ask his aunt Lydia for the money. However, if she does not agree to give him the money he plans to steal her precious rubies - the Eyes of Shiva - so called because at one time they were the eyes of a statue of the ancient Indian goddess Shiva. This goddess had a great significance to the people of India and a rich importer who now owns the statue and wants to have the eyes replaced was prepared to give $200,000 for them.

Tapper and Bates have spent 5 years in jail and have come back to grab the swag from the wall of the bank that they rigged during the building of the bank 6 years earlier. At the time they murdered the contractor guy Peter Mowtree by driving his car on to a railway line and jumping out just before a train came leaving him to be killed. The police thought it was an accident but Mowtree's daughter Janice was never convinced it was an accident. Janice happens to be a friend of the Avenger's assistant Fern.

Professor ODonnell is a great scientist who has become cruel and inhuman and it is for that reason that his assistant Miss St Clair has decided to leave him. The Professor has created Mechanical robots, which go out and capture animals from the zoo so that the professor can use their brains to create a super brain for his robots. But of course he can not let her go for fear of her telling the police. He intends to kill her and use her brain too.

the Avenger receives three messages in the last two weeks all on the same wave thought length with sounds of lapping water and wind and the shouting out of a mans name, Scrawny. It all becomes clear when he receives a call from inspector white about the body of a man been washed ashore.