They were trapped! "Up the stairs," Rick said hoa.r.s.ely.
Scotty bent over the fallen Carrots and jerked him to his feet.
"You"re coming with us," he grated.
Rick was already halfway to the stairs. Red Kelso was climbing over the blockade in the hallway, Brad Marbek behind him. Rick stopped.
"Hurry, Scotty!"
"Hostage," Scotty grunted. He took Carrots" arm in a j.a.panese wristlock and rushed him across the room. Carrots struggled, then let out a yelp. It was either go peacefully or break his own arm. "Run,"
Scotty commanded, and Carrots ran, up the stairs. Jerry followed and Rick brought up the rear. Their pursuers were gaining!
Rick"s mind raced as he climbed two stairs at a time, reconstructing the plan of the house. He rejected the idea of barricading themselves in a room on the second or third floor; the halls would give their enemies too much room for a battering rush against the door. "The attic," he called ahead to Scotty, "and step on it! They"re gaining!"
They crossed the second-floor landing and went up the stairs to the third. At the top of the third landing was a rusty bucket, full of sand. Rick knew, because he had been forced to dig through the sand.
It was evidently a relic of Coast Guard occupancy, placed there to extinguish incendiaries. He pressed hard against Jerry"s heels, hearing the thud of footsteps on the stairs behind him and the cries of "Get "em" from Red Kelso.
Scotty, Carrots, and Jerry sprinted for the attic stairs. Rick paused long enough to scoop up the bucket of sand. He hurled it after him, straight into the faces of the smugglers and found time for a grin at their yells and curses.
The attic stairs led straight up, with no landing at the top. The door was ajar. Rick"s trick had gained a little time. They went through it with seconds to spare, and Rick slammed it shut. "Find a light," he gasped. "There"s one up here." He remembered a tiny bulb, high in the ceiling.
"Key," Scotty snapped. "In the door. Outside. It was there last time."
Rick opened the door and had a quick glimpse of dark figures rushing up the stairs. He fumbled for the key, jerked it loose, and slammed the door. With his shoulder against it he inserted the key on their side and twisted it just as bodies thumped against the other side.
Jerry found the light switch and turned it on. Carrots, lips drawn tight, was bent over in the judo hold Scotty had on him. Rick found a few old pieces of overstuffed furniture, too disreputable to have been moved or sold, and he and Jerry pushed them against the door.
"If we can hold out," Jerry said between swollen lips, "Captain Douglas will get here."
"If!" Rick echoed.
Red Kelso called through the door. "Okay, you kids. Open up and we"ll make things easy on you. But if we have to break the door down, it"ll be rugged."
The boys looked at each other. Carrots grinned. Rick didn"t like the grin. He yelled back, "Try to come through that door and we throw your son out the window!"
Carrots turned white.
"Stop talking like a fool and open up," Kelso demanded.
"We warned you," Rick yelled.
There was a solid thump as shoulders. .h.i.t the door. Rick cast a desperate look at Scotty. The door wouldn"t hold long. Scotty winked at Rick and jerked his chin at Carrots" back.
"Out the window with him," Rick growled. He lunged forward and took the boy"s legs. Jerry, who had caught the wink too, took his shoulders while Scotty kept a wristlock clamped tight. They rushed Carrots to the window and Rick let go long enough to throw up the sash. Then they lifted Carrots to the sill.
"Pop!" he screamed. "They"re throwing me out!"
The thumping at the door ceased. The elder Kelso called, "Keep your head, Jimmy. They don"t dare. They know we"re comin" in, anyway, and if they throw you out they haven"t got a chance."
Kelso had spoken the exact truth, and the boys knew it. They let Carrots slump to the floor. "Get close," Scotty said. He spoke into Carrots" ear. "One peep out of you and I"ll break your arm. Listen.
We"ve got to have help and quick. Who"s the fastest runner?"
"Jerry," Rick said promptly. The reporter had been a sprinting champion in school. "Are you okay now?"
"Fine. What"s your plan?"
A door panel splintered as shoulders crashed against it. Good thing there was little s.p.a.ce to stand out there. The smugglers couldn"t get much leverage. Scotty talked fast. "We"ll unblock the door and open it suddenly, then, Rick, you dive into the mob. They"ll be off balance because the stairs are steep. Jerry, you"ll have to leap for it, over their heads, and try to get away." He was behind Carrots and his wink was concealed. "Carrots will help us."
"I won"t," Carrots stated.
"You will," Scotty corrected, "and you"ll say "Pop, hold it a minute.
They want to talk it over." Just like that." He twisted his hand slightly and Carrots yelped.
Scotty marched him to the door. Rick and Jerry slid the furniture away. The door was close to giving in now, the hinges starting to pull loose. Rick put one hand on the key and the other on the k.n.o.b, hoping he had interpreted Scotty"s wink correctly. Jerry crouched to one side of the door. Scotty held Carrots directly in front of it and commanded: "Speak your piece."
Carrots did, willingly, under the pressure of Scotty"s hand.
The thumping stopped.
"What do they want to talk over?" Kelso demanded.
Scotty nodded. Rick spun the key and jerked the door open. Carrots, all of Scotty"s driving weight behind him, catapulted headlong and smashed into the men on the stairs like a battering ram. They tumbled down under the impact like a row of dominoes, and Jerry went out the door as though shot from a crossbow. His flying feet struck backs, legs, and spurned faces. He gained the landing in a mad dive, scrambled to his feet, and was gone.
The smugglers clambered to their feet, or tried to. "After him,"
Marbek bellowed.
Red Kelso had fallen backward, and his legs were almost at the door.
Scotty and Rick grabbed simultaneously and heaved, sending the upper men sprawling again. Then the boys withdrew and slammed and locked the door. Jerry had had the advantage of complete surprise, and his momentum had gotten him past the men on the lower stairs. Rick and Scotty couldn"t have made it after the initial shock.
They pushed the furniture against the door again and drew back. Unless help was near, they were done for. There was nothing more they could do except wait, and fight once the door gave. Rick wrenched the leg from an ancient and broken chair and silently handed it to Scotty.
Then he found one for himself.
The banging had renewed almost instantly. Scotty went to the window and looked out. Rick joined him just in time to see Jerry round the corner of the fence.
"He made it," Rick said with satisfaction. Two of the seamen crossed below, but Rick knew they would never catch his friend. He turned to face the door.
"Closer," Scotty said.
They moved closer and took places, one on each side of the door, and waited.
Smash. And again, and again. Wood dust flew as hinge screws gave with a loud screech. The door was just hanging now. One more smash! It flew inward and Red and Brad charged, two seamen close behind them.
Rick met Brad Marbek with a lightning thrust of his chair leg, and the smuggler doubled up. But his great body could absorb more punishment than Rick could give. He drove forward, brushed aside a swing of the chair leg, and his arms locked around the boy. Rick groaned as the steely hug drove the air from him; he felt a hand loosen, and kicked frantically for Brad"s legs, then Brad"s free hand caught him behind the ear, stunning him. Rick slumped to the floor fighting for breath and consciousness. Across the room, the seamen had Scotty, grabbing for his flailing arms while Red Kelso stood back and shot punches at him. Then the seamen got a firm grip and held him fast. Kelso"s open hand slapped, back and forth, until Scotty"s head sagged.
Carrots crawled into the room, his face contorted, one hand on his ribs. He got to his feet and walked unsteadily over to Scotty. He swung a roundhouse right. Scotty"s head moved an inch. Carrots missed, and the force of his swing spun him around and he almost fell.
Rick laughed gaspingly.
Carrots" face turned scarlet. He walked over to where Rick was struggling for wind and drew his foot back. "I"m goin" to kick your teeth right down your throat," he grated.