Page:Arthur Stringer - Gun Runner.djvu/317

 stopped beating: it was over—it was the end of everything!

Then a sudden roar of sound filled the shed, followed by the crash of glass. It was a shot from McKinnon's revolver, a deliberate and well-put shot that shattered the lantern and left the place in darkness.

"Quick—come ahead!" called McKinnon, out of the darkness. As he spoke the officer emptied his revolver toward the sound of the intruder’s voice. The shots, in rapid succession, ﬁlled the shed with tumult, left the air stifling with powder smoke. Quick calls and counter-calls came from the ship. The four barefooted soldiers, springing for their carbines, charged in through the narrow east door. They fired as they came, but only into utter darkness.

"Come ahead!" called McKinnon still again out of that darkness—she could not tell where. "Sit low, and take the door on the run!"

She hesitated, bewildered, for the command seemed a foolish one. The carbines were spitting close about her. She heard the cries of alarm, the deafening detonations, the crash of wood.

"For God's sake, come ahead!" implored McKinnon. She knew he was still safe. She no longer hesitated. She threw the