Grant, Maxwell - The Shadow 027 - The Silent Death by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Detective, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Adventure, Thriller
ISBN: 9780515042818
Publisher: Street & Smith Publications
Published: 1978-05-15T04:00:00+00:00

THE SHADOW’S hands were moving. They hovered above Cardona’s shoulders. Sinister fingers nearly touched the detective’s arms. Had The Shadow changed his purpose? Did he intend to overpower the detective and to receive the call himself?

“Hello… Hello…”

Cardona again spoke futile words. Impatience flickered on the detective’s countenance. He raised his right thumb and pressed the hook to jiggle it, and possibly restore the connection. Down went the hook; the thumb released it.

At that instant, The Shadow struck. His hand came forward with a swift blow. It landed squarely upon Cardona’s left arm, and knocked the detective’s hand forward with the receiver at the very moment when the sleuth released the hook with his right thumb.

A hissing sound came simultaneously from the telephone receiver. It was accompanied by a terrific puff of smoke. A bullet whistled by Cardona’s face, and shattered a large water bottle that stood upon a stand by the wall.

Joe Cardona tumbled from the desk, telephone and receiver still in his grasp. He caught himself and staggered backward.

As his head turned so that his eyes could view his mysterious assailant, Cardona caught a fleeting glimpse of a tall form that had swung to the half-opened door. Burning eyes met the detective’s quick, startled gaze. A cloak swished, and the mysterious figure was gone.

“The Shadow!”

The cry burst from Cardona’s startled lips. The detective had recognized the personage who had struck the receiver down in time to save his life. The telephone clanked upon the desk. Bewildered, Cardona seized his revolver and his flashlight.

The tones of a strange, whispered laugh came to the detective’s ears. Cardona reached the outer office, and threw the beams of his light toward the outer door, just as it closed. The detective hurried to the hall. He was too late. The Shadow was gone.

After a long interval, Cardona weakly returned to the inner office. The floor was soaked with water from the cracked bottle. The detective picked up the telephone from the desk. His eyes ran along the wire that connected it with the box.

Joe Cardona’s backward stagger had brought that wire free. The sleuth made an examination. He discovered that the cord was a dummy. He picked up the telephone. It, too, was a faked article.

Some one had removed the genuine phone and its wire. This instrument had been installed in its place. It was not a telephone. It was an ingenious death machine. Quickly, Cardona unscrewed the parts. He found himself possessing a remarkable device.

The receiver contained a short, stubby pistol barrel. Behind it was the hammer; out dropped a large, empty cartridge. Filled with a special charge of explosive powder, this deadly weapon had discharged its bullet with a sharp pung, accompanied by the puff of smoke.

There was a dry battery in the post of the telephone. This, connected with the receiver hook and the wire between base and receiver, had supplied the current that released the hammer of the pistol. Down and up - Cardona went through the motion with the hook.

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