"Have your gats, but no shooting unless he puts up a battle. Work quick, though, if there's any trouble.
"We've got to get this guy Hawthorne and get him for rights. Take him alive is best — dead if we have to go the limit!"
The men moved silently through the dark. They reached their appointed positions. It was gloomy in the room. A single light burned in the corner. There, half facing the door, sat Paul Hawthorne, a book spread before him. He was reading by the light of the lamp. Benson watched through the screen door. Veiled by darkness, the old man could see all that was taking place.
The screen moved in the window behind Hawthorne's shoulder. The reading man did not appear to notice the slight noise that it caused. Grady had done the job neatly.
Now, Grady was in view. With livid, leering face, the killer was coming silently through the window. Benson watched closely, while Shamlin, close beside him, was keeping an eye toward the clearing. In Grady's right hand was a short piece of iron pipe. Grady knew how to handle that implement with effectiveness. It was poised above Hawthorne's head as the killer leaned through the window. Benson was watching for the blow. He had ordered Grady to deliver a neat stroke that would stun the victim. That, to Grady, was a simple matter.
Hawthorne's head was inclined forward. The back of his skull made a perfect target for Grady's blow. It was only a matter of seconds now, Benson thought. But at that instant, there came an unexpected interruption.
The book toppled from Paul Hawthorne's lap. Simultaneously, the man shot out his left hand and pulled the cord of the lamp.
As the room was plunged in darkness, a pistol shot blazed from the chair. Hawthorne's right hand, beneath the book, had discharged an automatic.
With leveled revolver, Benson dashed into the dark room, Shamlin at his heels. The shot had been directed at Grady; Benson did not know whether or not it had found its mark. The old man's gun spat bullets toward the chair where Hawthorne had been. Shamlin joined in the fire.
Then came a flash from another corner of the room! Both attackers aimed in that direction.