“There they are, fellows! At ’em!”
There was a loud cheer, and from far down the street came its echo, as Tom and his crowd attacked the enemy from the rear.
And now Shirley caught her first view of the enemy.
Halfway down the block, caught between two fires as they were, the enemy, perhaps twenty of them, was preparing to give battle. Shirley could see that they had picked up whatever they could lay hands upon, and were awaiting the attackers to come within range.
Shirley shuddered, but kept close behind Dick.
“Look out!” cried Dick, and darted to one side.
Shirley did likewise, and a rock skimmed past her. There was a howl of pain from further back, and Shirley knew that one of the crowd had been hit.
“We’ll make ’em pay for that,” cried Dick, and in spite of the fusillade of missiles being hurled at them, he bore down upon the enemy at top speed.
For an instant Shirley hesitated. Here, she thought, might be a chance for her to make her escape. She turned, but as she did so the others surrounded her and she was forced to go on whether or not she wished it.
The two factions came together with great force. They were too closely entwined to permit of the hurling of rocks now. It was hard to distinguish friend from foe.