James Bond said sharply, “Viv. Get your legs apart!”
I automatically did as I was told, and again his gun roared. The thin man let out a curse and set me free, but at the same time there came a splintering crash from behind me and I whirled round. At the same time as he had fired, Sluggsy had hurled the television set over his head at James Bond, and it had crashed into his face, knocking him off balance.
As Sluggsy shouted, “Scram, Horror!” I dived for my gun and, prone in the grass, clumsily fired it at Sluggsy. I would probably have missed him anyway, but he was already on the move, weaving across the lawn toward the cabins like a football player, with the thin man scrambling desperately after him. I fired again, but the gun kicked high, and then they were out of range and Sluggsy disappeared into Number 1 cabin away on the right.
I got up and ran to James Bond. He was kneeling down in the grass with one hand to his head. As I came up he took the hand away, looked at it, and swore. There was a big gash just below the hairline. I didn’t say anything but ran to the nearest window of the lobby building and smashed it in with the butt of my gun. A burst of heat came out at me, but no flames, and, just below, almost within reach, was the table the gangsters had used, and on it, among some smoldering remains of the roof, the first-aid kit. James Bond shouted something, but I was already over the sill. I held my breath against the fumes, grabbed the box, and scrambled out again, my eyes stinging with the smoke.
I wiped the wound as clean as I could and got out Merthiolate and a big Band-Aid. The cut wasn’t deep, but there would soon be a bad bruise. He said, “Sorry, Viv. I made rather a hash of that round.”
I thought he had too. I said, “Why didn’t you just shoot them down? They were sitting ducks with those sets in their hands.”
He said curtly, “Never been able to in cold blood. But at least I ought to have been able to blast that man’s foot off. Must have just nicked it, and now he’s still in the game.”
I said severely, “It seems to me damned lucky you’re in it too. Why didn’t Sluggsy kill you?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. It looks as if they’ve got some kind of a headquarters over at Number 1. Perhaps he left his armament there while they did the job on the lobby. He may not have liked carrying live bullets around with him so near to the flames. Anyway, war’s declared now, and we’re going to have quite a job on our hands. Main thing is to keep an eye on their car. They’ll be pretty desperate to get away. But they’ve somehow got to kill us first. They’re in a nasty fix and they’ll fight like hellcats.”
1 finished fixing the cut. James Bond had been watching cabin Number 1. Now he said, “Better get under cover. They may have got something heavy in there, and they’ll have finished fixing the Horror’s foot.” He got to his feet. He suddenly yanked my arm and said, “Quick!” At the same time I heard the tinkle of glass away on the right and a deafening rattle that I supposed was some kind of machine-gun. On our heels, bullets whipped into the side of the lobby building.
James Bond smiled. “Sorry again, Viv! My reactions don’t seem all that smart tonight. I’ll do better.” He paused. “Now, let’s just think for a minute.”
It was a long minute, and I was sweating with heat from the burning lobby. Now there was only the north wall and the bit we were sheltering behind as far as the front door. The rest was a mass of flames. But the wind was still blowing the fire southward, and it seemed to me that this last bit of masonry might stand up a long while yet. Most of the cabins were on their way to burning out and, on that side of the clearing, there was a lessening of the glare and sparks. It crossed my mind that the blaze must have been visible for miles, perhaps even as far as Lake George or Glens Falls, yet no one had turned up to help. Probably the highway patrols and the fire services had enough on their hands with the havoc caused by the storm. And, as for their beloved forests, they would reckon that no fire could spread through this soaking landscape.