The Isle of Doubt 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: 1933-08-17T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XII. THE SHADOW'S MESSAGE

WHEN Harry Vincent awoke at eight o'clock, the first object that he noticed was an envelope which lay upon the chair beside his bed. It was not strange that Harry should have looked at that spot. He had laid an envelope there the night before.

But Harry had placed his envelope face up; this envelope, apparently the same one, was face down. A very simple phenomenon, but in The Shadow's service, such occurrences often had important meanings.

The envelope which Harry had placed upon the chair had contained his complete, coded report to The Shadow. Always, when The Shadow was to receive a report in person, his agents left their envelopes in conspicuous places.

This envelope, apparently, had been touched, but not opened. That was sufficient cause for Harry to open it. He did so, and immediately learned that this was a different envelope from the one that he had placed upon the chair.

The Shadow had been here. Weirdly, the master of the night had entered the house unseen and unheard. He had taken Harry Vincent's report. In its place he had left an envelope which contained definite instructions. Harry read the coded lines of The Shadow's message.

The writing faded as soon as Harry had completed his perusal. The Shadow's instructions were simple–as simple as the procedure of putting the new envelope upside down so that Harry would immediately notice it.

The Shadow's ways–The Shadow's orders–both were invariably designed with full knowledge of his agent's abilities and limitations. As surely as had Harry noticed that envelope, so surely could he follow the instructions which he had gained.

To-night, Harry learned, he was to bring the motor boat to the wreck of the River Queen. The old steamship, so The Shadow informed him, was quite accessible from the shore side, even with the motor boat, if approached directly amidships.

By making another of his trips down the river, Harry could return after dark and visit the steamboat by stealth, as he had previously visited the isle of doubt.

That part was up to Harry; and it gave the young man another idea –to go up the river, this time to come back just after dark, and drift by the plantation until he reached the neighborhood of the derelict.

Harry's duty on the old boat was tersely specified in The Shadow's message. The agent was to descend the companionway and follow the passage to the boiler room of the old vessel.

Having located that spot, he was to keep careful watch to make sure that no one approached. The motor boat was to be in readiness below the bow of the stranded River Queen.

Two factors impressed Harry. One, that there was a slight possibility of visitors aboard the River Queen; two, that The Shadow, himself, might have need of the craft that Harry would have available: namely, the motor boat.

Did The Shadow need Harry as a guard? Did he need him to aid in some punitive expedition?

Both situations were possible; but they were unusual. Generally, The Shadow worked alone.

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