"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 026 - Murder Trail" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

series of coincidences. This man had been a stowaway on the L-43. He had come aboard that ship with
Von Tollsburg.

Now, by a curious reversal of circumstances, Baron von Tollsburg was a stowaway on the Munchen,
while Henry Arnaud was the passenger!

Was there a connection here? Was Henry Arnaud a man whom Baron von Tollsburg sought to avoid?
Perplexities swept through the commander's brain; then he regained his poise as Henry Arnaud made a
quiet parting remark.

"I am glad to travel with you again, Herr Captain," said the American. "It is a pleasure to be a passenger
aboard your dirigible. Stowaways aboard Zeppelins once could have expected death if discovered. In
these times of peace, they receive reasonable treatment. It is preferable, however, to be a listed
passenger."

Arnaud extended his hand to Von Werndorff, and the dirigible commander received it. The American
turned and left the salon.

Von Werndorff remained thoughtful. With chin in hand, he did not realize that Arnaud's sharp gaze had
caught his immediate reaction.

IT was coincidence, Von Werndorff felt sure, that had brought this man aboard the Munchen as a
passenger. Arnaud's remarks could have been nothing more than a friendly revelation of the past. In this
surmise, the commander was correct.

But Von Werndorff made the mistake of discounting his own reactions. He did not realize that his stern
face, by its betrayal of emotions, had spoken to Henry Arnaud as effectively as if words had been
uttered. Here, above the United States, speeding toward the end of the oceanic flight, Henry Arnaud had
gained the remarkable suspicion that there was a mystery aboard this airship!

After he left the main salon, the commander of the Munchen still felt a trace of uneasiness. He went into
his cabin and consulted a passenger list. He learned the number of Henry Arnaud's cabinтАФ28. Passing
along the narrow central corridor, Von Werndorff paused at the door which bore that number.

He satisfied himself that all was quiet within. Henry Arnaud had evidently retired.

With only a slight apprehension remaining, Von Werndorff continued along the corridor.

As he walked toward the rear of the great gondola, something happened behind him. The door of Henry
Arnaud's cabin opened, and a pair of gleaming eyes watched the commander's course.

Those eyes saw Captain von Werndorff pause beside a bulkhead on the left, and listen there intently.
When the commander came back along the corridor, Henry Arnaud was no longer watching him.

Smoothly, the Munchen plowed on through the night. Within Cabin 28, Henry Arnaud stood by the door,
listening. The cabin light clicked on; the American stooped above his berth. His form was suddenly lost
amid a shrouding robe of black. A few moments later, Henry Arnaud was gone; and in his place stood a
strange and fantastic being.

A tall, mysterious figure, garbed in black; this was the personage into which Henry Arnaud had