Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 069 by Maxwel l Grant

Author:Maxwel,l Grant
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

CHAPTER XII. THEFT AFTER DEATH

LATE afternoon. Elwood Phraytag's shuttered mansion loomed dark against a dulling sky. Cars were parked along the secluded block. Among them stood a hearse. Death services were being held for the deceased philanthropist.

The newspapers had carried an announcement of the funeral. Brief services to which friends were invited; then private interment. The final statement was significant. It meant that no mourners would follow the hearse to the Sky Line Cemetery in New Jersey.

For Elwood Phraytag left no living relatives. He was the last of the family who would be buried in the mausoleum that he had built many years before. There was a tragic story in Elwood Phraytag's death.

Though he had possessed a fair-sized fortune, Phraytag was rated as almost penniless. His life—so the newspapers declared—had been one of giving. He had retained only enough funds to provide for his last days; the house was to be sold and the proceeds donated to the blind.

Only Worthington was to receive a legacy. That gift, in itself, was charity. For Phraytag had chosen a servant who, like himself, had no kin. Worthington would never serve another master; but he would be free from want, thanks to Phraytag's provisions.

Though there was to be no procession, there were mourners in plenty at the old mansion. Elwood Phraytag had been a benefactor to many. They paid their tribute by coming to the philanthropist's home to view the body.

They were of all classes, these people, and few knew any whom they saw there. Besides, the recipients of Phraytag's charitable gifts, there were numerous persons who had been friends of the old philanthropist.

Most of the visitors came and departed before the services. There were probably three dozen persons present when the rites were said. Among them was a tall, calm-faced individual who stood in a gloomy corner of the room where Phraytag's body lay.

Many people who came and left would have noticed this personage, had they known his name. But none were acquainted with him; for he associated chiefly with a class that did not attend the funeral. Elwood Phraytag had few wealthy acquaintances; and this mourner was Lamont Cranston, reputedly a multimillionaire.

Those who viewed the visitor's solemn, steady features presumed that he had been a friend of Elwood Phraytag's. In this they were wrong. The dead philanthropist had never met Lamont Cranston. Hence the millionaire's presence might have been unexplainable, but for another factor in the case.

Actually, the quiet stranger was The Shadow. He had adopted the guise of Lamont Cranston—one which he frequently used—that he might be present when the services were ended. For The Shadow knew that mystery had enshrouded the death of Elwood Phraytag.

BY the time the services had been completed, this silent visitor had noted every face present. Most of

those who had remained here were elderly men. Their countenances, solemn with grief, had given no sign of interests other than those of mourners. Yet The Shadow waited.

Pall bearers were entering. The Shadow's eyes turned toward the corpse. Elwood Phraytag's thin hands rested crossed upon his breast.

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