un in your
hand?"

"We're not going through the lobby," the stranger told them. "We're
going the way we came--through the window. And you'll go quietly or
we'll take our chances. They might catch us, but you wouldn't care with
a couple of slugs in you. Pete, go outside and wait. They'll come down
one at a time. Keep them covered, and don't hesitate to shoot if they
try anything."

The shadow slipped through the window, hung by his hands, and dropped.

The stranger's gun singled out Rick. "Get going."

Rick shrugged. There was nothing else to do but obey--at least for the
moment. He looked at Scotty, and his pal made a small gesture to the
right. Rick's forehead wrinkled. This was no signal he recognized,
unless Scotty meant to jump to the right.

He swung a leg over the sill and looked down. The shadow was waiting,
and the light from the window glinted dully off the gun in his hand.
Rick went on out, then holding by his hands he gave a swing to the right
and dropped. The gun covered him as he rose to his feet again.

"Against the wall!" the shadow hissed.

Rick dutifully moved back against the wall. The shadow was standing
about six feet away.

Overhead, Scotty was climbing through the window now. Rick watched
carefully as his pal lowered himself to full length, and swung _to the
left_.

Instantly Rick divined Scotty's tactics. If the two boys were apart, the
gun couldn't cover both of them at the same moment, and there would be
an instant while the stranger jumped when only a single gun would be on
them. And the shadow had already shown that he wasn't the smartest man
in the world. Rick slipped to the right a step or two while the shadow
was distracted by Scotty's jump. Scotty fell to his knees, and in
getting up he managed to put a few more feet between himself and Rick.

"Watch 'em!" The stranger's voice floated down. Rick glanced up and saw
the stranger with one leg over the sill. He tensed.

Scotty said, "Listen, you mug ..."

The shadow's head turned toward Scotty, and Rick left the ground in a
wild spring. He struck the shadow, hand clawing for the gun. He found a
wrist, and twisted, falling backward as he did so. The shadow, the
entire weight of his own body on his wrist from the throw, screamed!

The gun landed on the ground. Rick let go and scrambled for it, but
Scotty was there before him.

In the instant of the struggle the stranger had hesitated on the window
sill, hand grabbing for the pi