Then suddenly, without warning, the distant sound of gunfire brought us both to our feet.
'What's that?' Mary asked sharply, running to the window.
'Maybe the cops are chasing Joe,' I said hopefully, 'but just to be on the safe side, I'll put out the light.'
As I turned down the wick of the storm lantern more shots rang out, much closer now, and I hastily lifted the lantern from its hook and blew out the flickering flame.
'It's Joe and Mac!' Mary said, and threw open the door.
The flash of gunfire lit up the darkness outside. Away in the valley came answering flashes and bullets smacked into the wooden roof.
Joe and Mac, breathing heavily, charged into the room, and slammed the door.
III
For a moment or so neither of them could say anything. They leaned against the wall, panting for breath, while slugs slapped into the solid walls of the cabin and gunfire rolled in the valley.
'Get the rifles,' Joe gasped. It's Barrett!'
Mary stumbled across the room. I heard her open a cup-board. She came back with two rifles and gave them to Joe and Mac.
'Are you in this?' she asked, as calm as if she was sitting down to a cup of tea.
'Yeah; if it's Barratt, I am,' I said.
She went back to the cupboard and produced two more rifles and a sack of ammunition.
'What happened, Joe?' she asked as we loaded the clips.
'Jeepers! The boys walked right into them. There are about ten of them and Barratt. I guess he'd come to shift the stuff. They must have spotted our trucks and came down on us.'
Where do you get this us stuff from?' Mac growled. You weren't even there.' He was kneeling in front of the window, and turned his head to look at Mary. 'They were at the top of the quarry. We were at the bottom. It was like shooting rabbits. They got Harry, Lu and George with their first volley. The rest of us got behind the trucks. They kept crawling around the edge of the quarry, picking us off, until I was the only one left. I just lay there and waited. Finally, they decided they'd picked us all off and came down to investigate. Harry and George were still alive. They were badly hurt, but they were still breathing. Barratt shot them both through the head. I managed to sneak away while they were checking up on the others. I got to the top of the quarry, when Joe turned up. They spotted Joe. The chump was smoking. You could see him a mile away, and they came after us. I told Joe not to shoot, but he kept letting his rod off, and of course, they just kept coming. I was hoping to get away in the dark, but not with Joe lighting up the countryside for miles. So here we are, and right out there, they are, and it's going to be some picnic.'
Joe said, 'I got two of them. You don't think I was going to let that mob shoot at me without shooting back?'
While they were talking, I was examining the-valley below the cabin. There wasn't much cover until you started to climb the hill. Once they got a foothold on the hill, they could get up to the door of the cabin without being seen.
I edged the rifle over the window sill, sighted into the darkness and pressed the trigger. Almost immediately flashes lit up the shrubs on the far side of the valley and slugs whammed against the walls of the cabin.
'They're over on the far side,' I said. 'If they can get across the floor of the valley, we'll be cooked.'
'The moon will be up in a few minutes,' Mac said. 'It's just below the peak of the hill as we came along. Then we'll have plenty of light.'
I thought I saw some movement below, shifted the sights of the rifle and fired.
A tiny, shadowy form darted back under cover again. Both Joe and Mac fired at the same time. A faint yell followed the crash of gunfire. These two might not be very strong in the brain department, but they could shoot.
'That's another of the punks,' Joe said with satisfaction.
I put my hand on Mary's arm and pulled her close to me.
'Is there any way out of here besides the door?' I asked in a whisper.
She shook her head.
'How about the roof?'
'There's a ladder that takes you up to the roof, but once up there, there's no way to escape.'
'Sure?'
'You might with a rope, but it wouldn't be easy.'
'I guess I'll take a look,' I said. 'Got a rope?'
'There's one in the kitchen.'
Joe suddenly fired again.
'Look out!' he bawled. They're coming.'
We could make out six or seven moving figures, running across the floor of the valley. We all fired as fast as we could pull our bolts. Two of the figures fell. The others drifted back again under cover of the opposite bank.
'Get the rope,' I said to Mary. 'And get that trap open. We may have to leave in a hurry.'
'What are you two whispering about?' Joe demanded suspiciously.
'We're preparing a get-away,' I told him. 'By way of the roof.'
'Fat chance you have,' he snorted. They'd pick you off like a sitting rabbit when the moon's up.'
'We may have to,' I said, seeing the first rays of the moon appearing over the hill top. 'Here it comes.'
Two or three minutes later the floor of the valley was flooded with white light.
'Well, at least, it's as bad for them,' Mac said, sitting back on his heels. 'We can't miss them from here.'
'What do you think they're playing at?' Joe said, uneasily. 'They haven't let off a heater for the past five minutes.'
'Why should they?' I said. 'They're waiting for the moon to pick this joint out, and it will. They'll be able to see in through the windows.'
'I have the rope,' Mary called from an adjoining room. I'm going up on the roof,' I said. 'Keep an eye on them.'
'You better keep an eye on yourself,' Joe said sarcastically. 'Don't expect flowers for your funeral.'
I went into the inner room.
Mary held a flashlight in her hand, and as I came in she swung the beam to a short ladder that led to a trap door in the roof.
'You'd better not go up there,' she said. 'They're certain to see you.'
'Hey, you two; give me some covering fire,' I called into the outer room. 'I'm going up on the roof.'
'Hope it keeps fine for you,' Mac said and laughed.
They began firing down into the valley. I waited, listening, but there was no answering fire.
'I wonder what they're playing at,' I muttered. 'Well, here goes. Let's see what's up there.'
I mounted the ladder and very cautiously lifted the trap-door. I slid it to one side and peered around the flat roof that spread out before me.
Moonlight fell directly on it, and it was nearly as light as day up there.
Above me the hill went up steeply, offering little foothold and not much cover. To try and scale the hill from the roof in this light would be asking for trouble. The only chance would be to wait until the moon moved round and the hill face was in the shadow. I didn't know if we had the time wait.
I slid down the ladder again.
'Not much good. A rope won't help. It's too light. In another hour it might be done, but not now.'
'In another hour we'll be pushing up the daisies,' Joe said cheerfully from the other room.
'How about some coffee?' I suggested to Mary. 'We might be stuck here for some time. I'll go back and keep watch while you get it'
I returned to the outer room.
Mac was chewing an unlit cigarette, staring down into the valley. Joe sat on the edge of a chair, and peered around the window-frame.
'You didn't see a girl in the quarry, did you?' I asked Mac.
'No-why?'
'I had a girl with me when you spotted me. I sent her for the cops.'
'That's not going to help us. You'd never hear gunfire out of the valley. I don't know how it is, but it's a fact. Unless they come here to look for us, they won't know a battle's going on,' Joe said. 'Besides, it would hurt my pride to be rescued by a cop.'
'I reckon I could sink my pride,' Mac said and laughed. I'd sooner be pinched by a cop then fall into Barratt's hands.'
'Think it's safe to smoke?' Joe asked.
'Go and sit on the floor if you must smoke,' I said. 'I'll take your place.'
'You're a pal, pally. I'm glad I didn't shoot you.'
'So am I.'
He lit a cigarette while he sat on the floor.
'These punks don't show much initiative, do they?' Mac said. 'Maybe they've scrammed.'
'Go out there and find out,' Joe said. 'I bet they're cooking up something.'
I had an idea they were, too. So long as the floor of the valley lay in the moonlight, I could understand them not showing themselves, but, once the light had shifted, they would probably make a rush.
Mary came in with cups of coffee. Joe laced his from a pint flask he hauled out of his pocket
'Anyone want rum?' he asked, waving the flask.
Mac helped himself, handed the flask to me, but I shook my head.
'Just coffee for me.'
'Fancy your chances getting out of here?' Joe asked as he sucked up the rum and coffee noisily.
'I don't see why not.'
'Shut up, Joe,' Mac said curtly. 'You're creating despair and depression. No one would miss you if you were shot.'
'That's a lie!' Joe said hotly. 'My old mother would.' He got to his feet to cross the room for another cup of coffee. 'I've a flock of judies too. They'd all miss me.'
There was a sudden, steady rattle of gunfire. One of the distant bushes seemed to burst into flame as a Thompson-gun chattered its song of death.
'Down!' I bawled, and flung myself flat.
Joe took two lurching steps to the door, turned slowly on his heels and dropped.
No one moved. The Thompson continued to rattle. Slugs whined through the windows, cut across the door, hammered into the opposite wall. Then the Thompson stopped as suddenly as it began.
'Watch out,' I said to Mac, and crawled over to Joe. The burst of gunfire had caught him across the chest. It had ripped him open the way you rip open a can with a can opener.
'Is he dead?' Mary asked, and by the shake in her voice I knew she was badly shocked.
'Yeah.'
'Well, I hope I'll get out of this so I can tell his Ma,' Mac said. 'I bet she'll hang out flags. She always hated the punk.'
'Don't show yourselves in front of the windows and keep down,' I said, crawling over to where
Mary knelt by one of the windows.
'You bet,' Mac said. 'I thought that son of a bitch was up to something.'
Then the Thompson started grinding again. Slugs zipped through the room.
'Look out! They're coming!' Mac bawled.
I could see figures running into the moonlight. They swerved to right and left, making it impossible to hold the rifle sights on them. Mac brought one down, but the other five got across the floor of the valley and disappeared into the bushes.
'Not so good,' I said, ducking down as slugs sent splinters from the window frame. 'They're over now. They can get right up to the door without us seeing them.'
'They can't get in,' Mac said, 'without getting shot up. Where's Joe's rum? I feel like another swig.'
He crawled over to Joe, turned him over and fetched out the flask from Joe's hip pocket. As the Thompson stopped grinding, I raised my rifle and fired three quick shots into the bushes where the gun flashes had been.
There was a sudden movement. A man sprang out, holding the Thompson and went crashing down on his face.
'Nice shooting,' Mac said, who had returned to the window 'Now if any of those rats want that
Tommy they'll have to come out into the open for it'
Gunfire banged right by us, making us start back Slugs smashed through the door.
'They're right outside,' I whispered to Mary. 'Go into th
e
other room.'
'Why?' She peered at me, her eyes large in her white face.
'Get in there and don't ask questions.'
She went, crawling on hands and knees.
'Got an automatic on you?' I asked Mac, my lips close to his ear.
He nodded.
'So's Joe.'
I crawled over to Joe, found the .38 automatic, pushed down the front of his trousers, and crawled back to Mac.
'Listen: I'm going up on the roof. The moment I start firing, open the door. With any luck, they won't see you until it's too late. You've got to shoot quick and you've got to hit them. There're five, remember.'
'They'll get you the moment you show on the roof.'
'I'll chance it.'
A voice bawled from out of the darkness, 'Come on out, or we'll come and get you.' I crawled across the floor into the inner room. Mary was waiting for me. 'I'm going up,' I said. They're right outside, and we might surprise them. Stick around down here and keep your eyes open. There may be trouble.'
And as I climbed up the ladder, I thought that last utterance was a nice example of the understatement.
Gently I pushed back the trap, waited, listening. Then slowly I raised myself so that my bead and shoulders appeared above the opening of the trap. Nothing happened. I wondered if those left on the far side of the valley were watching the roof. I hoped they weren't. Moving out into the brilliant moonlight gave me a sinking feeling, but I moved out.
Lying flat, I edged across the roof, taking my time, careful not to make a sound, expecting any moment to be shot at from the other side of the valley.
It seemed a long way across the roof. As I drew near the edge, I moved more slowly, edging forward inch by inch.
More shots crashed out, startling me, but they were shooting at the door and not at me. Under cover of the noise, I pulled myself forward until I could see over the edge of the roof. I looked down on the shrubs and bushes that sloped away steeply into the valley. For a moment or so I couldn't see any movement. Then I spotted a man, crouched behind a rock, about twenty yards from the cabin. Keep as still as death, I searched the ground before me. I spotted the others, spread out in a half-circle before the cabin. None of them were taking any chances. All of them were partly protected by rocks or shrubs. I reckoned I would pick of two, but the other three would get me unless Mac got them first. I decided it would be safer and wiser to tell
Mac
where they were hiding before trying to pick them off.