shot, the echoes of which had
barely died away, came again the vicious, whip-like crack of the Luger;
this time from the southern end of the shack. The long-drawn,
nerve-shattering scream of the first casualty was duplicated, and a
carbine volley crashed from the river bank.

Then up from the attacking party swelled an exceeding bitter, angry cry;
the grim, deadly exasperation of men goaded to the point of recklessly
attempting ruthless reprisal upon their hidden enemy. With a total
disregard of personal safety many of them sprang up out of cover, as if
to charge upon their hated objective.

"As you were! Back, men! back!" rang out the deep, imperious voice of
Kilbride. The stern command checked the onrush of maddened men. "D'you
hear me?" he thundered, "Take cover again immediately--everyone. . . .
I'll give the word when to rush him, and that's not yet."

It said much for the discipline of the Force that his commands were
obeyed, albeit in somewhat mutinous fashion. The inspector turned to
Slavin with fell eyes. "Christ!" he said, "there's two men gone! I
won't chance any more lives in this fashion! I'll give him ten minutes
to surrender and if he don't give up the ghost then . . . . I'll do what
an emergency like this calls for--what I came prepared to do, if
necessary. Sergeant! take charge of this side until further orders; I'm
going down the bank to the other party awhile."

He stole away through the brush and presently they all heard his
stentorian tones ring out from the river bank. "Gully! oh, Gully! It's
Inspector Kilbride speaking. I'll give you ten minutes to come out and
give yourself up. If you don't--well! . . . I've got a charge of
dynamite here . . . and a fuse, and I'll blow you and your shack to hell,
my man. It's up to you--now!"

There was no response to the inspector's ultimatum. Amidst dead silence
the prescribed time slowly passed. Fifteen minutes--then, a gasping
murmur of excitement arose from those on the eastern front, as in the
rapidly whitening dawn they saw Kilbride suddenly reappear around the
northern and blank end of the building. For some few moments they
watched his actions in awe-struck, breathless silence as, with bent back,
he busied himself with his dangerous task.

Presently he straightened up. "Now! Look out, everybody!" he bawled.
He struck a match and applied it to something that immediately began to
splutter, and then he retreated a safe distance n