Maxwell Grant - The Shadow 155 by Death Jewels

Author:Death Jewels [Jewels, Death]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-11-14T23:24:31+00:00

floor of the hall. There was a walk around it to allow the passage of those who

had set the trap.

Wedging through, The Shadow eased the door shut. He followed the wall to make a circuit of the hall keeping all the while within a narrow path that offered safety.

Past the trap, The Shadow sensed the gloominess of a rear hall that led to

the shuttered room. His gloves were on again. Testing the floor as he advanced,

The Shadow found it solid. He came to a door. It was locked, but his fingers discovered that the lock was a simple one.

The Shadow used a skeleton key that had a hollow interior, with a small hole near the tip. His thumb scraped away a plug of wax that covered another hole at the handle of the key. That admitted air. The key tip dripped oil while

The Shadow probed.

This lubricant made the process soundless. The Shadow opened the door, stepped through. He flicked the flashlight low, so its rays would not reach the

battered shutters. With the door shut tight behind him, he had isolated himself

from all watchers.

A SPOT of light showed a red slipper near a cot. The slipper was Valencia’s - the mate to the one that The Shadow had acquired when he started to chase Reggie’s cab after Reggie abducted the girl. Like the other, it was a clue to where the girl had been. This room was the place where Reggie had imprisoned her.

The room was empty. Reggie’s recent arrival explained that. Whether he had

taken the girl to some new stronghold, or whether she had finally listened to his blandishments, was a question that needed other evidence to decide.

Logically, Valencia would not have left here without a struggle -

provided

she had been able to make one. Similarly, she would not have come to terms with

Reggie, even if he threatened death. Therefore, The Shadow leaned to the actual

facts: that Valencia had made a partial agreement which bettered her situation but did not commit her to any step that would countenance Reggie’s crimes.

There were times when The Shadow’s analysis of facts became over-conclusive. This proved to be one such occasion. The Shadow knew that Reggie’s departure had been recent, for the smooth crook hadn’t arrived here more than a half hour ago.

Also logical, Reggie would have left a rear guard. If they were needed to trap an intruder, they would stay all night. The front hall trap made that unnecessary. Therefore, The Shadow assumed that the man who had circled the house was making a final patrol.

That was why he decided to make a search within the house, not knowing it wasn’t Reggie alone who had resolved to snare The Shadow here. Actual orders had come from the big brain in New York. The Shadow found evidence of that when

he returned to the rear hall.

Blinking his flashlight along the wall, he saw an old-fashioned telephone,

with its clumsy bell box. Lifting the receiver, The Shadow caught the low hum that told him the telephone had not been disconnected.

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