Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 261 by Maxwel l Grant

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

CHAPTER XIII. SHOWDOWN AT MIDNIGHT

So dark was the night that the ruins of Lower Glenwood had turned black, to the degree that the men who clustered there were as hidden as the stumpy walls themselves. So, in due proportion, was The Shadow. He was as invisible as night itself as he listened to the low tones of Kip Reddick, the man who could boast himself a murderer returned to his scene of crime - and still be wrong.

"We're all set," Kip was saying. "The trucks are stowed where nobody will find them. So let's scram, the way we did last night, only we'll do it before we need to croak another of Wolf's outfit. We don't want to discourage Wolf. We need him in our business."

Kip didn't add further details. His statement, as it stood, contained enough significance. That Kip was after the Argyle treasures, went without saying; there wouldn't be any other reason for him to visit this terrain in company with a picked band of murderous followers. His problem, of course, was how to attack Glenwood Grange and make away with its contents.

The same problem confronted Wolf Lapine, and therein lay an answer. Since Kip "needed" Wolf without the latter knowing it, Kip's scheme, apparently, was to use Wolf's efforts to cover up his own. In turn,

Wolf was waiting for the "go" signal from Mark Jarratt, who was too smart to be working on a blind basis. Indeed, by final analysis, the answer seemed to lie with Carl Croom.

For Croom was the "inside man" at Glenwood Grange. He held full control there, and his only reason for biding his time would seemingly be the building of an alibi, a process which Jarratt considered very valuable. But The Shadow, for the present, was more interested in learning the status of Kip Reddick and his relation to Wolf Lapine.

Down in the cellar ruins which had once been Lower Glenwood, Kip's men were digging into side passages, as if to firmly entrench themselves. The Shadow could see flashlights moving from those depths of debris, coming back to the central spot where Kip stood.

It was an excellent setup for a surprise attack, but The Shadow preferred to forego such opportunity.

Whenever he found crooks in opposition, it was better to play them against each other. The rivalry between Kip and Wolf would develop if let alone.

So The Shadow moved away from the ruins where Kip's men were entrenching themselves, and found the trucks that Kip had mentioned. The way The Shadow found them was by following a single light that blinked like a wayward firefly. One of Kip's half dozen men was retracing the route to as neat a hiding place as could be wanted. The light moved through a split between two rocks some distance from the gully road, and there it disappeared.

Reaching the crevice, The Shadow decided not to follow through. Instead, he took a grip on one rock wall and started upward. No suction cups were required for this climb; indeed, they would have proven useless against the rough-hewn rock.

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