The Golden Doom 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: 1943-07-20T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER IX. DEAD MAN'S SECRET

DARKNESS filled The Shadow's sanctum.

It was a blackout that was total and complete. Not even the tick of a clock was audible.

Outside this secret chamber, whose location was unknown by either police or criminals, New York was pulsing with noise and activity. But the hush in this sound-proofed room continued.

Presently, a faint sound was audible. It was a hiss of sibilant laughter. Unseen drapes swallowed the echoes of that laugh, made it die away with eerie suddenness.

The Shadow had arrived at his sanctum.

Evidence of his unseen presence increased. A tiny blue light glowed. It seemed to hang in darkness like a tiny star.

Abruptly, a more powerful light sprang into life. It was white, brilliant. The rays of this light were carefully controlled. They shone downward but in no other direction.

In that pool of controlled light the polished surface of the desk was revealed.

Hands moved forward into the white cone of brilliance. Tapering fingers were disclosed. On one of those fingers was a glow of bright color. It changed with bewildering rapidity.

Crimson gave way to vivid yellow; the yellow switched to a glittering green that became almost instantly deep blue. The blue faded to tawny yellow - became again the scarlet hue of blood.

The dazzle came from a fire opal on The Shadow's ring. This gem, known also as a girasol, was the largest and rarest of its kind in the world. It was not worn for ornament. It was The Shadow's hallmark. Many times The Shadow found it necessary to wear a disguise unknown to his agents. The many-colored flash of that rare stone was an instant identification.

His hands moved beyond the cone of light. When they returned to view, they held a compact pile of newspaper clippings.

The Shadow read these selected accounts of New York's most baffling mystery.

The death of the unknown ambulance victim at Mercy Hospital had created a sensation. The Shadow's mocking laughter increased as he noticed that the word "murder" was not used in any of these newspaper stories. The words were vaguer than that. "Outrage" was one. "Sinister puzzle" was another phrase. A third paper called it a "sensational death."

There was reason for this cautious news play-up. Mercy Hospital was the most important hospital in New York. Its list of directors and trustees included people prominent in the city's social and political life. To shout "Murder!" without proof was to run the risk of a costly libel suit.

The report of the medical examiner had made this fact clear to every smart editor in town.

His autopsy denied earlier facts that he, himself, had given to the reporters. He had named three deadly poisons as the cause of death. Prussic acid! Strychnine! Atropine!

Now, in a briefly-worded report to the newspapers, the medical examiner stated flatly that there had been no poisoning whatever!

NOR was this opinion the sole property of the medical examiner. He was supported by the testimony of the city's expert toxicologist. The brain, the lungs, the heart - all the organs of the dead man - reacted negatively to the presence of any poison whatsoever.

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