Death Jewels by Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson

Author:Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson [Grant, Maxwell & Gibson, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Espionage, Fiction, Thrillers
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1938-08-18T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XII. SPIKED DOOM

MOMENTS were prolonged as The Shadow stood motionless in that brilliance. Swift though his moves had been, he knew that gunners would already have begun their fire, had they been restless. They were lingering because of confidence. Certainty would hold them longer.

Scum of the underworld, those mobsters relished the final moments. It would be something they could boast about, this rub-out; how they had pooled their cash, each betting that The Shadow would dive in his direction.

All would share credit for the kill; in fact, the actual murderer would need the cash reward to offset the prestige that his pals would gain. The men who waited, in keeping with the deal, would be recognized as the coolest trigger-men in crimedom.

Crooks watched to see what would influence The Shadow's choice. They believed that some wild whim would make him pick one gun as a possible object of attack. That wouldn't help. Even if The Shadow did the inconceivable, he couldn't hope for life.

Even though the machine guns covered different areas, each was visible to at least one other. If The Shadow attacked a single shield, to find the man behind it paralyzed with fear, he would only be loaded with bullets in the back.

The Shadow did not expect to find any gunner rooted. He was grasping for another choice. In an instant, he had it.

He moved with suddenness, whirled about toward the stairs above him. That held the fire of the front-door gunner. The Shadow changed direction too quickly for the man above to open fire.

Spinning away, he cleared the lower step, sprang along the hallway wall as though making for the rear. The moment be appeared there, he reversed.

He was going for the stairs again. Only the front-door gunner had been able to see him all the while. His muzzle had moved along with The Shadow's dash. It stopped when the reverse move came. It wasn't covering The Shadow when he suddenly reappeared within the range of the killer who topped the stairs.

The Shadow took a long spring upward. With a second stride, he spun entirely about. Throwing all his strength into a headlong plunge, he dived for the center of the square front hall.

From the floor above came the rattle of the machine gun. Its bullets slivered the steps. The aim was wrong; the fire was belated. The Shadow had cleared the spot that the gun covered. He landed on hands and knees, six feet from the stairs. His momentum was terrific, carrying him toward the front door.

There, the shielded gun began to chatter. Its muzzle was off aim, but the machine gunner was swinging it. Half a second more, he'd be drilling The Shadow when the cloaked fighter bounced upward.

The rebound never came.

THERE was a sharp click from the hallway floor. It split in the center; its two halves slithered apart. The Shadow had hit the automatic trap that covered the spiked pit. He was somersaulting forward from the force of his spring, but his dive carried him below the level of the front-door gun.

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