“Come on! Come on! We’ve got to get out of here!”
And then Flash became aware of another sound—the opening of an upstairs door, then footsteps treading on the landing. A powerful flashlight beam played over the wall.
Flash felt the muzzle of a gun pressing hard into his ribs.
“Keep quiet!” he was advised in a whisper.
From above came a gruff shout: “Hallo, down there!”
Grasping the revolver muzzle in one hand and the man’s wrist in the other, Flash gave a violent twist and shouted for help. The gun boomed again, then clattered to the cement. The bullet, sharply deflected, hummed through the shattered window, while Flash and his attacker groped for the weapon.
Suddenly the basement room was flooded with light.
“Reach!” commanded a gruff voice from the door.
Flash saw the revolver lying almost at his finger tips. He grabbed it and, swinging about, jammed it into the chest of the man who had attacked him, pinning him to the floor.
From across the room another gun belched flame, and there was answering fire from the doorway. Then the two men who were free made a concerted dash for the stairs. The lights went out.