The Ghost of the Manor by Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson

Author:Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson [Grant, Maxwell & Gibson, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Espionage, Fiction, Thrillers
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1933-06-17T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XIV. A VISITOR VANISHES

WARREN BARRINGER had been fortunate in his flight. The shot in the study had been muffled. Its report had not reached the outside grounds of Delthern Manor. Furthermore, the old house was in an isolated spot.

Yet Warren had not escaped unseen. As he had come from the old gate in front of the mansion, a pair of approaching eyes had spied him from the darkness.

Strange eyes! They were the only visible portions of the person who bore them. Hardly had Warren Barringer left by the arch before those eyes were staring in the direction of the mansion, piercing the darkness as they looked toward the gray walls of Delthern Manor.

A soft swish sounded above the flagstone walk. The door of the great house opened softly. It closed. A shadowy shape glided across the floor of the lower hallway. It ascended the stairs, and followed the corridor. It stopped before the open door of the room where death had struck.

Keen eyes surveyed the scene. Intuitive ears listened. Then came the swish of a cloak. The sinister form of The Shadow loomed within the room of death. A solemn, whispered laugh drifted through the close atmosphere of the room.

Gliding across the room, The Shadow studied the body of Humphrey Delthern. His eyes turned to the form of Wellington. They noted the gleaming revolver on the floor. A gloved hand lifted the weapon and replaced it.

Seating himself at the desk, The Shadow, close beside the ghastly body of Humphrey Delthern, began to open and close the drawers. He found nothing of consequence. But his keen eyes noted one significant fact. In every drawer except one, the small collection of papers and envelopes were in perfect order.

Standing again, The Shadow visualized the scene of death. He studied Humphrey Delthern's chair. He examined the space on the opposite side of the desk. He moved to the hall, and turned the rays of a tiny flashlight upon the floor.

The entrance of Warren Barringer; the death of Humphrey Delthern; the intervention of Wellington; these were events that The Shadow was reconstructing. Again, a low laugh echoed from his lips. Its strange tone denoted a tinge of regret that his arrival had been delayed.

Warren Barringer's precipitous haste; Clark Brosset's efforts to mislead Lamont Cranston; these were factors over which the murderer had had no control, yet they had proven to be important elements in crime. Because of those factors, The Shadow had arrived too late to prevent these killings.

Keen ears were listening now. Footsteps sounded vaguely from the floor below. A woman's voice was calling up the stairs.

"Wellington!" Marcia Wardrop was summoning the servant. "Wellington!"

The call faded. A gasp came from below. Hurrying footsteps announced Marcia's departure. The girl had sensed that something was amiss. Alone in the house, she had lost her nerve. She had rushed out of the old mansion to summon help.

THE SHADOW calmly returned to the room of death. His eyes looked toward the door. A laugh resounded from hidden lips.

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