Centaurus and 2 donks:
Thanks for your comments. I was assuming, although I didn't make it clear, that you would not even consider retracting the gear until you've reached blue line speed. To do so, irrespective of how short the runway or how dark it is, seems foolhardy in the extreme. We all know that the only way a light twin is going when speed's below blue line and an engine quits and that is down. Past blue line speed if the runway is long enough then you can choose whether to keep your options open by leaving the gear down as you climb away or raise it. I said in my original post that you raise it once there is insufficient runway to land on. That of course means you hope to be able to land AND stop. If you are at 300 feet half way down a 2000m runway then obviously that will be difficult.
We can of course talk about this all day. As some people say, all a light twin does is move the scene of the accident further away....
By the way, have you ever read such a long sentence as juggernaut's??
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"Take-off is optional, Landing is mandatory"