Some one had entered the other room when Bill had opened the door. The newcomer had shot the gangster and had extinguished the lights. He was fighting a lone battle in the dark!
Whoever he was, the odds were against him; still the dark was his protection, for none could see him.
The shots ended. Ernie’s voice came through the darkness.
“Lay low!” he cried. “Wait till he shoots. Then we can spot where he is! Hold it, gang!”
The silence that followed was even more fearful than the roars of the automatics. It was an ominous silence. Ernie and his men were waiting; but to stop the gunfire, Ernie had been forced to give his game away. The adversary was too clever to fire the telltale shot.
Cliff clutched Nipper’s arm in the darkness and drew the little gangster toward the outer door.
“Come along,” he whispered. “Now’s our chance for a get-away!”
THEY crept to the outer door. Nipper found the lock and opened it softly. He turned the knob and drew the door inward, peering through the crack, to locate Geek, the outside man. Then he clutched Cliff’s sleeve and drew him through the door.
A man lay unconscious in the corridor. Geek, the gangster, had been taken unawares by the approaching rescuer. Nipper pocketed the automatic that lay beside the man. He looked calmly at Geek.
“Knocked cold,” was his comment. “Some guy hit him on the button — and hit him right!”