The House on the Ledge by Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson

Author:Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson [Grant, Maxwell & Gibson, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Espionage, Fiction, Thrillers
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1941-04-18T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XI. AT GRAY HAVEN

THE same dusk that marked The Shadow's meeting with Tim Felbright was bringing a new vigil to Gray Haven. Until dark, The Feds kept merely casual watch; but at night they really patrolled the high fence on the cliff brow above the gray stone mansion.

Nightfall was also the time when Vic Marquette arrived, not only to check on the six-man squad that he had posted, but to talk over important matters with Stephen Kelwood.

Gray Haven was a remarkable edifice. The ledge which supported it was not exactly flat; hence the structure was buttressed all along its foundations. In those foundations were cellars, quite irregular, and on different levels.

Alfred Parnal had been a collector of every type of rarity from Egyptian mummies to medieval silverware. He had built Gray Haven to house his collections and knew that he would need storage room; hence the multiple arrangement of the cellar chambers. Parnal's sudden death a few years ago had ended the whole plan.

Most of his collections had gone to museums. Gray Haven, still uncompleted, had become a white elephant on the hands of the estate, which was managed by Stephen Kelwood. To help things along and bolster up the investments that Parnal had made for his daughter Isabel, Kelwood had tried to rent the house on the ledge.

Failing to find regular tenants, Kelwood had rented it to himself at intervals and had kept the place in good condition toward the day when it could be sold.

So much for the cellars. Marquette had gone through them, found them spick-and-span. No one could hide in the empty cellars, and reaching them seemed an impossible task. Some of the cellars had windows, but they were only narrow slits that opened upon the sheer cliff below.

As for the mansion proper, it was divided into two sections. The front portion had two complete floors. On the first was a library, well-stocked with books that Parnal had collected and kept. Next to the library, but not connected with it, was a room which Kelwood used as a study whenever he resided at Gray Haven.

Knowing that he would have to stay at Gray Haven indefinitely, Kelwood had sent to New York for his files and records, and they were installed in the study.

The second floor front had bedrooms, and the present occupants were Kelwood; his secretary, Therman; Isabel and her maid, Celeste. As for the rear section of the house, it quartered Brackley, the caretaker, and a few helpers who acted as servants; two handy men and a woman cook. Randolph, Kelwood's chauffeur, lived in the servants' quarters whenever he was at Gray Haven. Marquette had gone through these quarters with Brackley and found everything quite satisfactory.

Brackley himself was a find. He was a square-built man, husky, as well as efficient. He knew the house and its surroundings and was a great help when it came to posting the Feds. Brackley fixed up some of the unfinished third-floor rooms into lodging quarters for Vic's squad and saw to it that they were comfortable.

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