Bert came down. But first he threw up both hands in token of surrender; then rocked back upon both his heels, and shoved outward with all his might. And, as he had hoped, the bales in the rickety pile suddenly bulged outward, and that end of it collapsed.
Bert fell backward and heard a revolver shot ring out as he did so, though the bullet did not seem to come close to him. Then he bumped unceremoniously from bale to bale as he tumbled downward. But he was not hurt, and was on his feet as soon as he landed.
In an instant he was clambering rapidly over the helter-skelter mess of bales toward the place he had seen Gord Leach last. He saw that Gord had been knocked off his feet by the falling bales, but the man was getting up, and he still had his g*n.
Realising that he could not reach Lea
