coming with us," he grated.

Rick was already halfway to the stairs. Red Kelso was climbing over
the blockade in the hallway, Brad Marbek behind him. Rick stopped.
"Hurry, Scotty!"

"Hostage," Scotty grunted. He took Carrots' arm in a Japanese
wristlock and rushed him across the room. Carrots struggled, then let
out a yelp. It was either go peacefully or break his own arm. "Run,"
Scotty commanded, and Carrots ran, up the stairs. Jerry followed and
Rick brought up the rear. Their pursuers were gaining!

Rick's mind raced as he climbed two stairs at a time, reconstructing
the plan of the house. He rejected the idea of barricading themselves
in a room on the second or third floor; the halls would give their
enemies too much room for a battering rush against the door. "The
attic," he called ahead to Scotty, "and step on it! They're gaining!"

They crossed the second-floor landing and went up the stairs to the
third. At the top of the third landing was a rusty bucket, full of
sand. Rick knew, because he had been forced to dig through the sand.
It was evidently a relic of Coast Guard occupancy, placed there to
extinguish incendiaries. He pressed hard against Jerry's heels,
hearing the thud of footsteps on the stairs behind him and the cries
of "Get 'em" from Red Kelso.

Scotty, Carrots, and Jerry sprinted for the attic stairs. Rick paused
long enough to scoop up the bucket of sand. He hurled it after him,
straight into the faces of the smugglers and found time for a grin at
their yells and curses.

The attic stairs led straight up, with no landing at the top. The door
was ajar. Rick's trick had gained a little time. They went through it
with seconds to spare, and Rick slammed it shut. "Find a light," he
gasped. "There's one up here." He remembered a tiny bulb, high in the
ceiling.

"Key," Scotty snapped. "In the door. Outside. It was there last time."

Rick opened the door and had a quick glimpse of dark figures rushing
up the stairs. He fumbled for the key, jerked it loose, and slammed
the door. With his shoulder against it he inserted the key on their
side and twisted it just as bodies thumped against the other side.

Jerry found the light switch and turned it on. Carrots, lips drawn
tight, was bent over in the judo hold Scotty had on him. Rick found a
few old pieces of overstuffed furniture, too disreputable to have been
moved or sold, and he and Jerry pushed them against the door.

"If we can hold out," Jerry