Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 233 by Maxwel l Grant

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

CHAPTER XVII. THE SHORT TRAIL

IT was very dark on the little roof, and the ledge, though ample, was none too wide. It was the only way to the little room among the eaves, a cubicle poked into the connecting corner of two old-fashioned houses - an architect's nightmare of the previous century.

Originally, the cubicle had belonged to the other house, which had now become the shabbiest of apartments. The Shadow had tried the other house first, only to find the final way blocked off by a solid wall.

Probably the high-perched room had been condemned as dangerous. Whatever the case, the only way to reach it was by the roof route from the other building.

There was this about Mycroft's own private hide-away, which he called his laboratory: he had chosen it too well. Had it been an ordinary room, tucked off as it was, it might have baffled an exhaustive search.

But its outward construction had disclosed it immediately to The Shadow.

From the street, there was one angle right up between the buildings, that gave a perfect view of the cubicle. The crazy piece of architecture had just the appeal that a man of Mycroft's eccentricity would relish.

In approaching the roof dwelling, The Shadow was gaining absolute evidence that it belonged to Mycroft. The Shadow's sense of smell was his guide.

Though not a chink of light, nor the slightest sound, filtered out from the shuttered window, the odor of Mycroft's inevitable chemicals were apparent. He was back at his experiments, and he didn't have Tilroy as a bottle-washer to keep down the aroma.

Up the short slope to Mycroft's window, The Shadow inserted the muzzle of an automatic between the down-tilted slats of one shutter. He levered the slats upward, for they were all connected.

Silent, at first, was The Shadow's action; then it did not matter. He saw Mycroft in the tiny room, at a workbench opposite, distributing the contents of a beaker into test tubes that were set in a rack.

Had Mycroft turned at the sound of the shutter's rattle, he would have seen the muzzle of an automatic covering him and heard The Shadow's commanding voice assuring him that resistance would prove folly.

However, noting that Mycroft hadn't heard the noise, The Shadow proceeded farther.

He gripped the other half of the shutter, drew it open, and produced a gun with his other hand, before cloaking the first. Easier than transferring a gun from one hand to the other, and a better process, considering that Mycroft might have turned at the moment of the transfer.

Since Mycroft didn't turn, The Shadow opened the original half of the shutter and squeezed into the room.

There was another window, in the far corner, lower and larger than the one The Shadow entered. It had a drawn blind, and might prove to be another exit. So The Shadow moved across to it, partly to cover it, partly to get a better angle at Mycroft.

As The Shadow placed himself, Mycroft turned.

The effect of The Shadow watching him in silence was more overwhelming to Mycroft than if he had heard a challenging whisper.

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