The Shadow 297 by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XII

How The Shadow had arrived so suddenly seemed quite explainable to Margo. He had a habit of appearing at a crucial moment, hence this was his usual form. What Margo couldn’t understand was why The Shadow hadn’t arrived sooner. It wasn’t his normal way to leave emergency situations in the hands of doubtful characters like Alban Sark.

Even now, The Shadow was handicapped by his own delay. He didn’t have time to open fire with an automatic and scatter the men in skeleton costumes. They were upon him all at once, swinging their guns instead of firing them, trying to beat down this adversary who had shown himself too boldly.

On his feet, Jud was charging out into the hallway hoping to aid The Shadow. Jud had a gun that he had been unable to draw until now, but here was his chance to use it. Pulling the gun, Jud surged into the black-garbed whirl that was mixed with the kaleidoscopic effect of skeleton ribs and skull-faces, all in white.

Then something struck, like a living tidal wave. It was another crew of hooded men, coming up from the cellar. Reeling away from hard swung blows, Jud saw The Shadow detach himself from one cluster and wheel back toward the study. Cutting across the path of The Shadow’s attackers, Jud was hurled ahead and pitched headlong through the open doorway, just as The Shadow beat back another drive of half-groggy foemen.

In all that fray, not a single shot had been fired. Always, the members of the death’s head corps had been too close, too clustered, to risk shots without hitting each other. In his turn, The Shadow had preferred that close-up fighting as a means of beating down the opposition without wasting bullets. Now, in a lull which was hardly more than an instant, The Shadow gestured his gun hand across the study and gave the quick order:

“That way!”

Margo understood. They were to take Sark’s way out. Grabbing Jud by the arm, Margo dragged him along; and Gail, rather than be left behind, hurried after both of them. By the time Margo reached the corner door that Sark had slammed earlier, Gail was gripping Jud, telling him not to trust Margo too far.

It seemed that Gail couldn’t quite understand.

Out in the hallway, the lights were blinking off. The men in the skeleton costumes wanted complete darkness. Now they were dashing back down into the cellar, The Shadow after them. For the first time, shots were heard, but they were muffled, so deep below the house that their reports could not have carried to the street where The Shadow’s agents waited.

Margo heard them, however, as she found her way through a dimly lighted kitchen. Satisfied that The Shadow had put his enemies to rout, Margo decided that the best way was out. In all this turmoil, she hadn’t lost her sense of direction and ahead she saw a door which she knew must lead to the back of the house.

Beckoning to Jud, Margo brought him along despite Gail’s protests, which only resulted in Jud dragging Gail along too.

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