uette of the ancient cathedral a few
hundred yards away. But movement of air, a slight thinning of the
darkness, told him when he passed openings in the thick wall.

Suddenly he stopped, all senses alert. He had heard something. As he
waited, muscles rigid with the strain of listening, he heard a whisper
no louder than the rustle of a moth's wing.

"Rick?"

"Yes," he breathed.

Even though he was expecting it, he gave an involuntary jump when
Scotty's hand touched his sleeve. Scotty's lips touched his ear and the
husky ex-marine whispered almost inaudibly:

"Gate to the street. Ten paces ahead. I have an empty gasoline drum.
Going to throw it. If he fires and is close enough, rush him. If not,
make for the gate. Can't stay here all night."

Rick found Scotty's shoulder and squeezed it to indicate agreement, then
he crouched low, ready to move like a plunging fullback in any
direction.

Scotty moved away. In a moment Rick heard the faint scrape of metal on
stone. He filled his lungs with air, then held his breath, waiting.

He sensed rather than saw Scotty lift the gas drum over his head. Even
when empty, gas drums weigh quite a bit, but Scotty launched it like a
medicine ball. Rick saw it briefly, a cylindrical shadow against the
sky, then it landed with an appalling clatter, struck sparks from a
stone, and rolled noisily away.

The rifle flamed one, twice. It was perhaps twenty paces away, and the
shooting was toward the drum. Rick rushed forward, arms outstretched. He
heard a slap like a baseball hitting a glove, then a cry of pain. The
rifle blasted again, muzzle skyward.

Rick thought he heard a siren wail, but there wasn't time to wonder. He
sprang headlong toward the rifleman. His shoulder struck flesh which
yielded. Then warm metal touched his hand and he grabbed for it. The
rifle barrel! He leaned on it, keeping it vertical, and put his weight
into the job of driving its owner back off balance.

A blow caught him under the eye and he saw stars. For a moment he
relaxed his grip, then he released the rifle and reached until he found
cloth. He pulled, letting himself go backward as the wearer of the cloth
was pulled off balance. He landed on his back, and a knee in the chest
drove the air out of him. He rolled sideways, fists driving out. One
connected and the shock of hitting bone ran through his knuckles and up
his arm.

A heavy weight landed on his stomach and he grunted, trying to roll out
from