Shadow 283 - The Chest of Chu-Chan 09-01-44, 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

CHAPTER XI

PATROLMAN CASSIDY, returning from the corner drug store, stopped short of Benisette’s door and stared.

What Cassidy stared at was blackness, too much of it. The blackness formed a cloud that blocked out the light from the back of the hall, which wasn’t sensible because the light had been burning when Cassidy left.

Maybe the bulb had burned out. To find out whether or why, Cassidy began ducking his head left and right, only to have the blackness swirl with him. So Cassidy drew his revolver, aimed it at the blackness and halted in astonishment.

He was pointing his gun right at the missing hall light, burning as bright as ever!

It didn’t occur to Cassidy that the blackness could have dwindled in crouching fashion. The fadeout had deceived him because the light, again unveiled, had caught his eye. What the patrolman had actually seen was The Shadow, approaching Benisette’s apartment from the rear hall, only to retire at Cassidy’s return.

All this was in curious contrast to Margo’s impression of The Shadow entering by the front door. It was possible that The Shadow could have continued through to the back, though why was a debatable proposition. However at this present moment, Margo Lane was in a place where the consideration of such problems wouldn’t interest her.

Back in the rear gloom of the hallway, The Shadow watched Cassidy try the door of Benisette’s apartment only to find it locked. Bringing the key from his pocket the patrolman opened the door and entered. As he did, blackness moved toward him again, sidling past the glow of the hall light in case Cassidy turned to look. But Cassidy didn’t turn to look.

Inside Benisette’s apartment, Cassidy was staring at a piano bench. He removed his cap to scratch his head, though why a blank bench should have perplexed him was something else again. Cassidy might better have studied the chest of Chu Chan, standing locked in the corner, but he didn’t. Indeed, Cassidy was so puzzled that he failed to hear the slight sound of a window sash being lowered into place, somewhere at the rear of the apartment.

The Shadow heard it and was away, out through the back hall. He was on a trail that he had picked up earlier in back of the apartment house; that of Professor Frescott. The Shadow had spotted the benign worthy sneaking in through an alleyway, but in keeping with his plan of learning other people’s secrets, he’d let Frescott go ahead.

Now the situation was different. With Frescott departing, it might be policy to follow him elsewhere. So The Shadow reasoned until he reached the back door and pressed it open. The door creaked; not enough for Frescott to hear, for The Shadow could see the professor sneaking along beside a fence; but there was someone closer who caught the sound.

From a trellis beside the doorway, two powerful tendrils emerged like segments of a powerful, living vine, and wrapped themselves around The Shadow’s neck with the tightening force of a boa constrictor!

This wasn’t the way to treat The Shadow.

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