stol he had tucked in his belt. He pulled
it free and aimed at the struggling figures below, but in the gloom
there was no way to distinguish friend from foe. And in that heartbeat,
Scotty picked up the shadow's gun and fired one snap shot.

The stranger's gun dropped to the ground and he fell backward into the
room.

Scotty thrust the pistol into the shadow's stomach. "Face the wall," he
ordered. "Put your hands against it. Now support your weight on your
hands."

The shadow did as ordered. Rick took the man's legs and pulled them
backward so that the shadow's whole weight was against his hands, his
outstretched body forming the hypotenuse of a right triangle. The only
way he could move to regain his balance was to lower himself to the
ground and then get up.

Rick picked up the stranger's fallen pistol and hefted it. "Better see
about the one upstairs," he advised. "I'll watch this one."

"I fired at his hand, but I was high," Scotty told him. "He got it in
the shoulder. He won't get far."

Zircon and Briotti charged around the corner of the hotel in pajamas and
slippers, followed by other guests and members of the hotel staff.

"We had a little trouble," Rick explained briefly.

The scientists took in the situation at a glance.

"As I said," Tony Briotti muttered. "Adventure-prone. And lucky! How do
you beat a combination like that?"

CHAPTER V

The Warning

Steve Ames walked into the hotel dining room accompanied by a young Navy
lieutenant. He spotted the boys immediately and waved.

Rick breathed a sigh of relief. "There he is."

"We can turn this whole business over to him and then get out of here,"
Scotty returned.

The events of the night before had culminated in two phone calls, one by
the hotel manager to the police, the other by Rick to Steve Ames.
However, the duty officer at the UDT base had replied that Ames was not
available. Rick had then asked for intelligence, and his query had
gotten fast results. Steve Ames didn't show up, but Navy Shore Patrol
officers did. The SP's had conferred with the local police, and the
affair had ended with the shadow and the stranger, whom Scotty had
potted in the shoulder, being carried off by both groups. First,
however, the senior Shore Patrol officer had listened to their story,
then instructed the boys, "Wait for Steve Ames. Talk to no one else. The
police won't ask any questions."

After conferring, the Spindrift group decided to go ahead