Maxwell Grant - The Shadow 066 by Doom on the Hill

Author:Doom on the Hill
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-11-15T00:44:37+00:00

Commotion from the porch. Quickly extinguishing his light, Harry gazed in that direction. Two men had arrived there: Dunmore, the old deaf servant, was standing with Lang Sook, the cook. The Chinaman was babbling a lingo that Dunmore could not have understood even if he had heard it.

Barks and growls had arisen from about the house. The dogs were excited. Yet Harry, crouched in the darkness beside Ezekiel Twinton's body, was waiting. He had no purpose other than his indignation at this deal of death. He wanted to get the murderer. Neither Dunmore nor Lang Sook had nerve enough to venture forth. The pair went back into the house.

Still Harry lingered. Then came a hiss. Startled, Harry listened. Then he heard the whisper of The Shadow. The silent master had arrived too late to witness crime. He wanted the facts that Harry could give him.

"Report."

In a low, tense voice, Harry told all he knew. He sensed that his information was vague. Moreover, nearly ten minutes had elapsed since the tragedy. The Shadow, however, made no comment while Harry spoke. The single word that he uttered at the end of Harry's story was a command:

"Return."

Harry nodded. Pocketing his revolver, he arose and went away through the darkness. He had begun to realize his own folly. He belonged in the house at the bottom of the hill; yet he had lingered here by the dead body of a man whom he could not aid.

The Shadow's tiny flashlight glimmered after Harry had departed. Keen eyes studied the position of Ezekiel Twinton's form. The Shadow observed the flattened grass. His light showed the area of the brief struggle. It moved further along; then it suddenly went out.

Dunmore and Lang Sook had reappeared upon the porch. The old servant was carrying a lighted kerosene lamp. The Chinaman had armed himself with a large carving knife. Together, they stepped to the ground and advanced with caution. The Shadow moved off into the darkness. He waited and watched.

A gasp came from Dunmore's lips when the servant discovered the body of Ezekiel Twinton. Lang Sook babbled incoherently in Chinese. Dunmore raised the lantern to form a larger circle of light. He did not see the lurking figure of The Shadow.

The servant signed to the cook. Lang Sook seemed to understand. Extinguishing the lantern, Dunmore laid it on the ground. He and the Chinaman lifted Twinton's body and carried the inert form into the house. After the door had closed, The Shadow's light again flickered here and there. At last it went out altogether. A soft laugh - solemn and mirthless - undulated through the darkness. The Shadow departed.

HARRY VINCENT had lost no time in heading back for the house below the hill. He realized that others could have reached this goal far ahead of him. When he arrived, Harry tried the back door. It opened.

Softly, The Shadow's agent entered and stole up to his room. His first action was to attire himself in pajamas. Then he sat in a chair and listened.

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