"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 166 - Crime Rides The Sea" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

flatten in the passage.
Crooks had a habit of falling for The Shadow's bluff, and these three
were
no exception.
Before they realized that their shots had spattered too late for The
Shadow's dive, a cloaked shape came half upright. Resting on knees and one
hand, The Shadow shoved his other fist forward. From it poked an automatic
that
spat an immediate answer from its big muzzle.
One crook toppled before he could yank his revolver trigger. The next
took
a bullet as he fired; but his aim did not match The Shadow's. The pellet from
the revolver whined inches above The Shadow's slouch hat, to flatten against
the steel companionway.
The third crook was the man who had the actual chalice. His aim was
slower, but more accurate; he was starting a trigger squeeze just as The
Shadow
swung in his direction. In his eagerness, the thug went forward as he aimed;
and
that produced his downfall.
From the floor Harry Vincent made an accurate grab at the thug's ankle;
the fellow took a hurtle as he fired. His shot wasted, he rallied, coming up
to
meet The Shadow in a frenzied grapple.
Arms were swinging as Harry piled in to aid his chief, but the grab that
he made for the crook's shoulders was unneeded. That last thug sagged before
Harry could reach him, stunned by a clanking blow upon the head.
His gun muzzle still smoking, The Shadow sprang for the companionway,
beckoning Harry to follow. There wasn't time to think about Edna Barvale, for
Harry knew that heavy work was needed elsewhere. Scrambling up the stairway,
he
saw The Shadow speeding forward along the deck. Following, Harry suddenly
found
Cliff Marsland beside him.
As they ran, Cliff panted the news in quick disjointed phrases.
The trouble had started in the wireless room. A crook had sneaked in
there, to send a message while the operator was absent. He had been spotted by
the returning operator, who had promptly started to give an alarm. From that
moment, battle had begun.
"They slugged him" - Cliff was referring to the wireless man - "and got a
call off. There was a flash that came back - The Shadow caught it."
That explained why The Shadow had come to summon his agents. By radio,
from a hidden chief, criminals had received orders to start action many hours
ahead of schedule, and they were following that command. Guns were popping
along the decks below the bridge when Harry and Cliff arrived there.
Harry's impulse was to plunge in and help the loyal crew suppress the
traitors; but Cliff dragged him elsewhere, for he had other orders from The
Shadow. Dropping through a hatchway, they saw The Shadow pausing beside
Barvale's big strong box.
For a moment, Harry thought that battle was coming there; then he saw The