"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 036 - The Isle of Doubt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

connection was restored, and Burbank relayed the orders that had been given him.

тАЬReport actual departure of Baxton mob,тАЭ were Burbank's words. тАЬFollow and take position outside of
Wilcox home. Await get-away of crooks. Speed it with shots if necessary.тАЭ

Burbank leaned back in his chair. His position was one of patient relaxation. While he awaited new
telephone calls, his attitude was one of complete passivity.

There was nothing excitable in the make-up of this man who sat with his back toward the light. Yet
Burbank was a man of amazing endurance. In place of action, he exercised untiring vigilance. It was this
quality that made him a most important factor in the affairs of that amazing personage known as The
Shadow.

Here, in this secluded room, Burbank was nearing the forty-eighth hour of an almost constant stretch of
duty. During that period, he had served as contact man for those active agents of The Shadow who were
engaged in gathering facts which pertained to an impending crime.

Burbank had just received a report from Cliff Marsland, The Shadow's agent in the underworld. That
report concerned the zero hour at which тАЬPunchтАЭ Baxton, gang leader, intended to fare forth with his
mob of gunmen. Burbank had relayed the message to the secret sanctum of The Shadow, over a special
wire to which Burbank alone had access.

THE SHADOW!

To fiends of the underworld, that master of darkness was a hidden threat who struck when least
expected. They knew him as a being garbed in black, a lone wolf who battled crime with merciless
power. But none knew the devious ways of The ShadowтАФof his active agents who obeyed his
biddingтАФof Burbank, who was always under cover, awaiting messages that told of criminal activity.

A tiny light shone from the wall. Burbank adjusted a plug to receive the call. This report was a brief one.
Burbank again manipulated the switchboard, and relayed the words to The Shadow.

тАЬReport from Burke,тАЭ he informed. тАЬHe is at detective headquarters. Cardona has a squad in readiness.
Acts as though he expects an anonymous tip-off.тАЭ

There was no call back to this report. Burbank relaxed. He had been awaiting Clyde Burke's call.

Burke, a reporter on the New York Classic, paid frequent visits to detective headquarters. To-day,
Burbank had called Detective Joe Cardona, and had given the sleuth a vague inkling that crime was due
to strike. Cardona, in response to the tip-off, was waiting in hope of another call from the unknown
informant. Clyde Burke had looked in at headquarters to see that Cardona was still on the job.

Another glimmer from the tiny bulb upon the wall. Burbank pressed a plug, spoke, and received a
message. He gave orders to expect a return call, then formed connection to The Shadow's sanctum.

тАЬReport from Vincent,тАЭ announced Burbank quietly. тАЬPossum Quill and Lefty Hotz are in their room at
the Hotel Slater. Quill has just received a call from Punch Baxton. Quill and Hotz intend to leave the hotel
at eleven thirty, going directly to the transfer point.тАЭ
The ear phones vibrated weirdly. Burbank listened until the quivering sound had ceased; then made his
announcement: