The Shadow - 35 - The Black Hush by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant [Grant, Maxwell]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1933-08-30T22:56:13+00:00

The hidden listener had noted interruptions in various conversations. This had been due to Goldy’s system of capping the microphone and uncovering it at intervals. Even tonight, Bowser Riggins had not covered the mechanism until after Clyde Burke had arrived. Therefore the voice of the reporter had not passed over the wire despite the fact that he had been definitely admitted to Goldy’s living room.

Such incidents during the past days had led Burbank to believe that the apparatus had been discovered.

The hidden contact man had forwarded that information to The Shadow; in return, he had been instructed to send Burke to investigate.

Had Goldy Tancred known that Clyde Burke was an agent of The Shadow, he would have taken prompt action to eliminate the inquisitive reporter.

The big shot, however, had taken a different avenue of thought. Burke’s mention of Cardona had led Goldy to believe that the reporter might be working with the star detective. Cardona, wise and taciturn, was the type of sleuth who would employ a dictograph in his detecting work.

The telephone bell rang after Burke’s departure. Goldy Tancred picked up the receiver and heard the voice of Hector Fawcett. With the dictograph covered, Goldy was free to speak, but he was sparing and cautious in his remarks. He passed off last night’s failure, as he stressed the importance of tomorrow’s action.

“Hobbs is ready. He will be here.”

IT was not long before a creeping splotch of blackness appeared upon the floor beside the window.

Once again The Shadow was paying a secret visit to Goldy Tancred’s abode. The blackness stretched and wavered; above it, materializing beside the curtain, appeared the tall, phantom form in black.

Silently, The Shadow moved toward the wall beside the bookcase. His sharp eyes spied the improvised rubber cap. His hidden lips emitted a sibilant, whispered laugh.

Turning, The Shadow noted a radiator on the opposite side of the window ledge. Going to the spot, The Shadow stooped and attached another microphone. He ran a thin, invisible wire along the base of the wall, then up behind the draped curtain near the bookcase.

Wedging the original wire into a crack beside the window ledge. The Shadow connected the new one, guiding his operation by occasional flashes of his tiny light. When he had finished, he stepped back toward the radiator and spoke in a low, hushed voice.

“Connection completed,” announced The Shadow’s monotone. “Burke off duty until recalled.”

Those words went to Burbank. They were followed by The Shadow’s laugh.

The Shadow had come here a second time to cunningly counteract Goldy Tancred’s accidental discovery of the original microphone. The first connection was ended. Goldy, fully confident of his capping device, would never suspect the new installation.

But The Shadow, by a simple rearrangement of the circuit, had planted a new listening apparatus. Goldy, when he talked, would be heard. Even if the big shot again went over the line, clear to the apartment below, he would not discover that neat connecting wire that came in at the crack beside the window ledge.

Nevertheless, desired contact had been lost temporarily.

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