Grant, Maxwell - The Shadow 145 - The Golden Pagoda by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Detective, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Adventure, Thriller
Publisher: Street & Smith Publications
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

EVEN as Li Hoang stared, The Shadow made a leisurely turn in the master-crook’s direction. Li Hoang sprang back to the spiral steps; but his followers were not so wise. They shouldered forward, aiming as they came. The Shadow’s automatics spoke.

Mongols sprawled. The web swayed in hammock-fashion, from the recoil of The Shadow’s guns. There was a scream as one stumbling guard slipped over the edge and splashed into the seething oil. That was enough for the rest of them. They followed Li Hoang in maddened, upward flight.

Almost lazily, The Shadow let his body turn. His roll was slow, too delayed to tangle him in the mesh. He made no sudden effort until he was at the inner edge. There, he jolted his body sidelong. A corner of the mesh split loose.

With a heave, The Shadow slid downward; cleared the edge of the vat. Catching his footing, he drove for the spiral stairs. He fired upward as he began his pursuit. Those shots, and the laugh that accompanied them, spurred the frenzied crew that followed Li Hoang.

Once in the throne room, The Shadow saw a mad rush for the outer door. Chun Laro had joined it; he was running side by side with Li Hoang, while Myra blasted shots from her spot of safety. Unfortunately, the girl clipped neither the Chinese’s leader nor his lieutenant. Intervening Mongols took the bullets that she meant for the fleeing pair.

When The Shadow crossed the throne room, Myra followed. Foemen were on the run; the chase had become a rout. It was not until they reached the crossing of the passages that they met with opposition. There, The Shadow pulled Myra back, as bullets whizzed from doorways along the walls.

Shoving suddenly into the passage with the revolving steel door, the Shadow blasted a quick shot at a squatly enemy. The man sagged against the right side of the barrier, his eyes fixed toward the hourglass above.

Again, the sands had almost trickled through. The Shadow’s quick shot was a timely one. As he drew back into safety, others saw the steel door turn. The body of the squatty Mongol rolled into the breach, jamming the door and holding it half open.

Again, The Shadow jabbed his taunting mirth. He followed with a quick barrage of shots along the sloping corridor. Those bullets brought back futile answers, despite the angry cackle of Li Hoang, and the babbled shouts of Chun Laro.

They knew The Shadow’s purpose.

With the outside route opened, gunfire could be heard. If Harry or others were about, they would know that the road to battle was clear.

Gathering henchmen of Li Hoang prepared for a bigger battle. It came with a suddenness and size that they did not expect. A group of men appeared beyond the opened portal; they were headed by a stocky leader, whose swarthy face meant business.

Harry had done better than bring a few of The Shadow’s agents. He had heard the gunfire; had passed the word along to Joe Cardona and the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.