12 The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow by William Arden

Author:William Arden [Arden, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Call The Police

MR. HARRIS gripped the pistol grimly as he and Jupiter moved silently along the

forest path towards the lodge. The vegetarian’s ruddy face was serious and

determined as they hastened on under the shadows of the trees.

“And you think that the dark men who attacked you and took the statuette are the

same ones who attacked me?” Mr. Harris said as he walked.

“They must be, sir.”

“If that’s true, they may also be the ones who are holding prisoners out here. We

had better approach the lodge with caution.”

“They’ll probably be gone by now, sir, especially if the shadow saw Bob and me last

night.”

“That remains to be seen. If they’re so bold as to hold prisoners right on the estate,

they may not have been scared by two boys. What I don’t understand is what they

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think they’re up to, you see.”

“I guess I don’t understand that, either,” Jupiter admitted unhappily. “Maybe the

prisoners are the ones who really know the secret of where the Hoard is, and those

dark men and the laughing shadow are trying to find it.”

“That could be, Jupiter. Yes, you may have hit on it. And perhaps we can catch the

ruffians red-handed!”

They hurried on as quietly as they could in the deep forest shadows and came to

where the smaller path led down into the bowl-shaped valley. The truck no longer

stood in front of the lodge. The building looked much less mysterious in the bright noon

sunlight.

Mr. Harris motioned for Jupiter to crouch low in the trees and be silent. Then he

began to work his way stealthily down the slope through the trees. Jupiter examined

the lodge closely. There was no sign of movement anywhere. The shutters on the

lodge windows were open, and so was the front door. As soon as he saw the open

door Jupiter was certain that there would be no one inside.

Mr. Harris wasn’t taking any chances. He continued to slip silently down through the

trees until he reached the edge of the open clearing at the bottom of the valley. There

he stopped for a moment, surveying the lodge. On the rim of the valley, Jupiter

fidgeted under the enforced inaction. But then Mr. Harris left the trees and ran to a

corner of the lodge, holding his pistol in one hand, Jupiter watched him peer in at a

window.

Mr. Harris left the window and ran round to the open front door. He went inside

quickly. Jupiter waited. He could hear a lot of noise inside the lodge. Then Mr. Harris

appeared at the door and waved. Jupiter scrambled down the path and joined the

vegetarian in front of the lodge.

“Empty, lad. I looked under everything. Not a hair of them, but they were here all

right. Look.”

Mr. Harris displayed a pair of small white trousers of a homespun material exactly

like those worn by the two dark men.

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“I should guess that it was Indian clothing, right enough. It looks as if your dark men

were here. And the truck you saw was really here, too. There’s an oil patch on the

roadway.

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