Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 080 by Maxwel l Grant

Author:Maxwel,l Grant
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

CHAPTER XIV. THE TRUE STORY

THE SHADOW'S right hand was pointing toward a chair beside the table. Harry Vincent nodded. He walked to the chair and seated himself. Then he gazed toward The Shadow.

In following The Shadow's order, Harry had blocked the lamplight. No longer did The Shadow's shape stand in clear outline. It had become a spectral form, shrouded by the darkness that closed in from the walls. Still, Harry could see the flash of burning eyes.

"You came to Paulington," stated The Shadow, his voice an intonation. "You purchased a car and left the garage shortly after seven o'clock. You should have reached the cabin before eight."

Harry nodded.

"You were delayed," resumed The Shadow. "A tire went flat on the abandoned road. You stopped to change it. You were late when you started up the path."

Another nod from Harry. He did not have to tell the story. The Shadow had traced events himself.

Listening, Harry could guess the clues. He knew that The Shadow must have viewed the car.

The flat spare tire; mud on the base of a brand new jack. These were indications of importance. Then Harry thought of the old road and remembered the muddy spot where he had shifted tires. The Shadow must have viewed that telltale location.

"You heard the explosion," declared The Shadow, his tone solemn and level. "You saw men there afterward. Your duty was to remain on the slope. You kept out of sight in the darkness. Later, you chose Table Rock as your base.

"The ledge was too conspicuous a location. You went further up the hill and camped. You thought it best to keep way from Paulington and other towns until the explosion was forgotten."

The Shadow paused. Harry was about to speak, when his chief raised a silencing hand. The Shadow delivered a question; but his tone was a command rather than a query.

"A man went into that cabin," intoned The Shadow. "State if you were close enough to know that he had entered."

Harry nodded. The Shadow waited for a reply. Harry spoke huskily.

"YES," he said. "I heard someone coming into the path. Up ahead of me. It sounded like he was going to the cabin. I wasn't sure about it, though, until I saw a flashlight blink. I hadn't been using my own light on the path, so I figured he didn't know I was around.

"He was moving quick, though, and I had a hunch it might be somebody who had spotted me in town and footed it out from Paulington. Either to be ahead of me or walk in on me. So I waited down the path; then the whole side of the hill seemed to go up in a flash.

"I stayed where I was until I heard prowlers coming my direction. Then I cut off through the woods and watched their lights blink. Finally they went up toward Table Rock. I followed; I found a path and lost it; then found it again and came out at the ledge. The others were gone.

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