Shadow 122 - Murder House 03-15-37, The by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant [Grant, Maxwell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Street and Smith
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

A SOUND murmured from the darkness ahead. The Shadow extinguished the flashlight and listened. It was a ripple from the creek, which formed a short rapids at the end of the tiny gorge. The water’s gurgle varied, but from it came the same noise that had caught The Shadow’s attention before. The sound was a sharp splash.

Perhaps rocks slipped frequently into the rapids, but the duplicated sound was unnatural. It was more likely that some one was using a course of stepping stones across the shallow creek; that a foot, slipping in darkness, had twice loosened bits of stone. The Shadow waited, but the sound was not repeated.

If persons were crossing this creek, they could have reached the other side, to take to darkness. If so, their probable destination was the Hawkins Estate. The abandoned mansion was not far up the hill, for the creek, at this point, had veered toward it.

Conversely, creeping men could have spied The Shadow’s light and come from the other side. If so, their approach would be plain when they reached the beginning of the rocky ledge. It would be possible, however, for them to scale the softer bank and approach the ledge from above.

What The Shadow needed was evidence regarding the number of persons in the darkness. That gained, he could decide upon his best course. This early in the game, the smartest step would be to depart before prowlers arrived. The question was the choice of routes.

The quickest way to leave was by the embankment above the ledge. The surest would be back along the ledge itself. The one that offered trouble and hazard was down among the rocks by the alders. Nevertheless, it was the one upon which The Shadow decided.

The alders offered a hiding spot; sufficient camouflage even in The Shadow’s present attire. His trousers and shirt were dark blue; they would be difficult to spy by flashlight. If prowlers had heard The Shadow’s unguarded approach, they would first search the ledge and the path back toward the glen. They would imagine that they had guessed wrong when they thought they heard some one; or they would decide that a blunderer had retraced his course before their arrival. Meanwhile, from the alders, The Shadow could check the number of the prowlers; perhaps overhear their conversation. The one problem was to reach the vantage point he wanted. That, to The Shadow, was not formidable.

Easing over the ledge, The Shadow groped in noiseless fashion for a foothold below. No matter how precarious the descent might be, he was confident that he could complete it without discovery.

A tiny pebble slipped beneath The Shadow’s fingers; it made a slight clatter on the rocks below. The sound was not loud enough to be heard more than a dozen feet away. It served The Shadow, instead of hindering him; for from the sound he could gauge that he would have to lower himself about five feet before he could swing to a toehold under the ledge.

Oddly, the pebble seemed to answer with an echo.

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.