The Shadow 302 by Maxwell Grant

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

XI.

And Jud Fenwick had counted The Shadow as a friend.

It didn’t take too much to make Jud fighting mad. He always allowed a little leeway, out of sheer fair play, but after that, no holds were barred.

If The Shadow wanted him back, he could keep on waving, but this sharpshooting stuff didn’t suit Jud at all. If he’d had a rifle of his own, Jud would have tossed a few potshots in return, he was just that mad. Instead, Jud waved derisively and gave the boat what extra speed it had.

Anyway, The Shadow wasn’t much of a hand with a rifle, considering how wide that first shot had whined, and he’d have to be a lot better than he wasn’t to even dent the foam behind this speed-boat. The bow was right up out of the water and the stern was riding like a greased pig down a chute.

Again, Jud’s estimate was off.

The Shadow’s next shot ripped that hoisted bow. He followed it with another bullet that clipped a prong from the steering wheel right under Jud’s nose. Then, as Jud zigzagged, heeling the boat The Shadow’s way, the marksman on the distant rock politely put a splintering missile down through the bottom of the craft.

Water was spurting through the bottom as Jud banked the other direction. Another shot came boring up through the high side, bringing a flock of splinters with it. Two leaks instead of one, when the speed-boat leveled off, but Jud decided he would keep on running for it until The Shadow was out of bullets.

It would be silly to head for Saddleback Island and the Starfish, because then Jud would be revealing his one place of refuge. Convinced now that The Shadow had turned against him, Jud wasn’t trusting anyone too much. He could see the Starfish, a white speck against wooded Saddleback, while nearer, he made out the trim shape of the Rover, Thodor’s yacht. But Jud wasn’t heading for either of those craft.

Where Jud was bound for was the Foreside Landing, where he would have all the mainland in which to scatter. Jud had found the islands too cramped for comfort and he couldn’t say that boats were any better.

A bullet whined past Jud’s head. That Mannlicher seemed to improve with distance. Maybe The Shadow was just beginning to get used to the telescopic sight and was taking Jud as the final target. Jud gave the wheel another swing and a hard one; he’d go the limit now, to beat this rap. The Shadow, firing a split-second after Jud banked, reached the high side off the boat and the bullet clipped off a great slice of woodwork.

Luck, maybe that the shot hadn’t clipped Jud. He’d use more than luck to defeat the next one. Slapping the speed-boat around, Jud put her into a reverse turn like a racer rounding a buoy, figuring the stunt would really knock The Shadow’s calculations. Instead, Jud erased his own plans.

The Shadow had literally goaded Jud into that high-speed turn and the narrow speed-boat did just what was to be expected.

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