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

lifeboat's bow, he saw a splendid scene.


OUT of the last wisps of mist projected a galaxy of tall spires. mingled
with high block-shaped buildings that formed long, straight line.
At first, Harry blinked, thinking that the sight was a mirage, for it
seemed fantastic to suppose that a city could be floating on the waves, a
hundred or more miles out to sea. Then he made out a sweep of sandy shore, a
railed object that looked like a low bridge.
Harry recognized that structure as a boardwalk. He knew where they were,
a
moment before the men about him shouted:
"Atlantic City!"
The Ozark had gone down only a few miles off the famous New Jersey shore
resort. If ill luck had not thwarted The Shadow's plan, daylight would have
found the ship just past Cape May, almost in the shelter of Delaware Bay.
Crooks would then have realized their helplessness. Whatever fight they
started would have been useless. The Ozark could have come to port with
mutineers in irons, its two-million-dollar strong box saved from a trip to the
ocean's depths.
Unfortunately, that hadn't been accomplished; but neither had the
criminals managed their own task. They had sunk the Ozark, but that was only
half their duty. They had been instructed to do their evil work many miles off
shore, in waters so deep that divers could never find the old freighter.
Supposing the ship to be due east of New York, they had figured that their
work
was sure.
Instead, the Ozark had foundered in water no deeper than a dozen fathoms,
where she could be located and her cargo salvaged. That would be a jolt for
the
crooks when they learned it. Not only for the small-fry, but for the big-shot
who had flashed the wireless call to sink the Ozark promptly.
And to Harry Vincent, that brought the satisfied thought that the news
would worry Hugh Barvale and his double-crossing daughter Edna, otherwise
known
as Ruth Eldrey.


OARS were pulling hard. The lifeboats were coming closer together, as
they
approached the breakers. Along the boardwalk, early promenaders were pointing
excitedly out to sea. Lifeguards were signaling from canopied platforms on the
beach. They shoved their own boats out into the surf, to meet the survivors
from the Ozark.
The lifeboats pitched among the breakers, while shore guards hovered
near,
ready for rescue if any boats capsized. The precaution proved unnecessary, for
the surf was not overheavy. Pulling into a beach between two amusement piers
that jutted out beyond the breakers, the lifeboats stranded in the shallower
water. Leaping out, men hauled them up to the dry sand.