Edgar Wallace 
The India-Rubber Men 

„The India-Rubber Men” is a gripping thriller of London’s River Police, whose swift launches patrol the Thames and guard the ships that lie in port. Inspector John Wade is given the toughest job of his life when he is assigned the task of running to earth a gang of gunmen in rubber gas-masks, rubber gloves and crepe rubber shoes, who rob banks and jewelers, and even commit murder under the very eyes of the police, and get away with it. Through it all runs the Thames, and there is even time for a little excursion out of London to its upper reaches in Oxfordshire. A classic Wallace, stitching together his favorite themes with enough humor and vigor to keep the reader intrigued till the very end.