"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 128 - The Shadow's Rival" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

hands high.
Piling into the room, detectives straddled Chink's dead body and clamped
handcuffs on sprawling wounded men, along with the unscathed few who had
surrendered.
At the elevator door, Joe Cardona stood triumphant; with revolver
leveled,
he stood like a watchful hawk while his men gathered in the members of Chink's
marauding band. This was a real catch, one of the best that Cardona had ever
managed. The ace had a right to feel proud. In fact, Joe's chest could have
swelled more than it actually did.
Beyond the opposite door, keen eyes were viewing the scene that meant
more
than it showed. The law had done more than capture Chink's renegade outfit.
The
law had plucked that crew from the grasp of The Shadow.
Long had The Shadow anticipated that conquest. To-night, he had brought
his plans to a point of certainty. In such endeavors, The Shadow was
invariably
hours, sometimes days, ahead of all others. This time, the law had reversed
the
situation.
Joe Cardona had won the victory entirely on his own. The Shadow's zero
hour had brought him absolutely nothing.


CHAPTER II

THE SECOND SURPRISE

THE SHADOW did not begrudge Cardona's victory. Often, in the past, The
Shadow had stepped back into darkness to let Cardona take credit for deeds
that
were actually the cloaked fighter's own. What did concern The Shadow was the
situation produced by the law's remarkable invasion.
It meant that The Shadow's efforts had suddenly become unnecessary. He
could hang his cloak and hat upon the rack; use his automatics as wall
trophies. Either that, or seek some other city where crime ran rampant because
the town lacked a police officer as efficient as Joe Cardona.
Those were disconcerting prospects, even for The Shadow. Added to those
future possibilities was a present dilemma. Right now, The Shadow was in a
spot
that he did not like. He would rather be circled by a squad of aiming killers
than found, like a skeleton in a closet, behind a door in Chink Rethlo's
headquarters.
Cardona had spotted the door that hid The Shadow. Joe was striding across
the room, to see what might be beyond it. The Shadow eased the door shut; let
the knob turn. The latch had behaved properly when opening; in closing, it
slipped. Joe heard the click.
With a leap, Cardona crossed the living room, whipped open the door and
aimed his gun up the darkened stairs. He shouted a command to halt. Instead,