With a quick, short motion the hands came from the fold of the sweater. The quick shots of two looming automatics burst the silence of the low-ceilinged room. Spotter could see the spreading motion of the stranger's hands as the bullets found their marks.
* * *
Some of the cutthroats sprawled upon the floor. The others, springing forward, fell in a mass upon their prey. The wiry man went down beneath the heap. Spotter grunted in satisfaction as he saw knives gleaming, raised to strike.
Then from the heap of men came a single pistol shot. Simultaneously the light in the ceiling was extinguished. Glass clattered to the floor. The overpowered victim had freed a hand, and his quick, instant aim had been true. The room was plunged in darkness.
Spotter slipped toward the door. There were shouts coming from the floor. Ten men, the giant Mexican included, were fighting one. But in that blackness they could not identify the enemy they sought. A chair crashed against the door. An oath came from Spotter.
The battler was free! He was fighting like a demon! Every blow he struck was finding a mark. Bottles crashed. Tables hurtled against the walls. The lone stranger was moving everywhere, using anything as a weapon. His foemen were battling blindly. They were powerless.
Spotter could hear groans and sharp oaths. He realized that the conflict would soon cease, with the one man victorious. Then he would be alone with the enemy whom he had betrayed. Alone with The Shadow!
There was a thumping at the door. Spotter had cleverly bolted it when he had entered, to cut off the only avenue of escape. Now he rose cautiously from the floor, drew back the bolt, and let the door swing inward.
The light of the outer room revealed the faces of excited gangsters. They leaped away from the door as it opened — only Red Mike remaining. He was the one who had knocked. Spotter darted through the opening.
The proprietor of the Black Ship held a flashlight and a revolver. But before he had an opportunity to enter to the rescue, the cutthroats swept him aside as they came staggering out. A flying chair struck Pedro as the big Mexican emerged, and he was stretched prone upon the floor.