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

It disappeared into the blackened gangway, a cloaked shape that even
Harry
would not have recognized, had he been other than an agent of The Shadow. A
whispered laugh was audible to Harry's ears alone. It persisted in his memory,
a full two minutes later, when the gangplank rattled as it was hauled aboard.
The laugh of The Shadow!
To Harry Vincent, that tone meant more than triumph. It signified that
future crime, directed against the two-million-dollar shipment, would surely
come to grief. Criminals, whoever they were, would find matters unpleasant on
the Ozark.
The Shadow was aboard!


CHAPTER II

THROUGH THE FOG

DESPITE the fog, the Ozark was creeping slowly through the Lower Bay,
with
hope for better progress ahead. It had been bad in the North River. There,
Harry
Vincent had heard the strident screech of sirens at the ferry slips, invisible
in the mist. Even the mighty torch of Liberty's statue had been a mere flicker
when they passed Bedloe's Island.
But the Ozark, at last, was nearing the open sea; and Harry had found his
chance to go forward from the cramped quarters that housed the other
passengers. Close by a hatchway that led down into the hold, he awaited an
important meeting.
A man sidled across the slippery deck. Harry recognized him, gave a low
hiss. A few moments later, he and the arrival were crouched together
exchanging
comments on all that had occurred.
Harry's companion was Cliff Marsland, another of The Shadow's agents.
Husky of build, poker-faced in expression, Cliff had shipped as a member of
the
Ozark's crew. He hadn't seen the battle on the pier, for Cliff had been in the
hold watching the delivery of the strong box. After hearing Harry's account,
Cliff gave a low grunt.
"Pell looks fishy," he agreed. "But so does that fight. Those birds
didn't
have a chance to snatch the strong box."
"That sizes it," admitted Harry. "They'd have laid low, probably, if they
hadn't seen The Shadow. But why were they around in the first place?"
"To bluff the cops," returned Cliff. "They wanted to cover the fact that
the real mob is aboard this ship!"
Harry suppressed a low whistle. This was real information, from a sound
source. Of all The Shadow's agents, Cliff Marsland was closest to affairs in
the underworld. Placed among a group of crooks, he could invariably spot faces
that he knew.
"There's plenty of gorillas in this crew," assured Cliff. "They can't