“Keep away from me,” he ordered. “I’ll shoot among you if anyone moves.”

The answer was a shot which buried itself in the wall behind him, missing him by a yard. He brought his own weapon to a level and fired blindly. Someone screamed and there was a heavy fall. Unfamiliar as he was with firearms it had been impossible to miss at that distance, and with the target presented by a number of people.

“Do you want any more?” demanded the detective grimly.

There was no answer. Only the breathing of the group, and the muffled sobs of Mrs. Gertstein broke the stillness that had descended on the scene. Labar waited tensely alert for any menacing move. He was glad for several reasons that no one of his opponents had had presence of mind enough to put out the light. In the darkness it was highly probable that someone would get killed.