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

in
them; but Barvale could manage that covertly.
The actual control of criminal underlings lay in the hands of Pointer
Trame, a big-shot in his own right. As Cliff had said to Harry, a certain man
would have to be reached before anything could be pinned on Hugh Barvale. The
man in question was the fourth member of the well-depleted band that had once
styled itself The Hand: the hiding big-shot, Pointer Trame.
First, however, there was other work more imperative at the moment. That
was to block whatever crime was intended aboard the freighter, Ozark. From his
analysis of the circumstances, plus his knowledge of the freighter's cargo and
the parts played by certain persons on board, The Shadow knew how trouble
might
be spiked.
The light clicked off. The darkness of the tiny cabin was stirred by the
low tone of the whispered laugh. The following silence told that The Shadow
had
set forth upon ventures that were entirely his own.
 CHAPTER III

BEFORE DAWN

UNDER circumstances other than those aboard the Ozark, the task assigned
to Harry Vincent would have been most pleasurable. In fact, watching Ruth
Eldrey was something that anyone would find it difficult not to do. Harry
Vincent was merely one of a half dozen male passengers who were all engaged in
the same process.
Some of the passengers were playing cards in a corner of the small
lounge,
but they, like the ones who chatted with Ruth, were glancing often toward the
girl. It was obvious that the longer the voyage continued, the more would she
occupy their attention.
The brunette seemed oblivious to the fact that she had become the main
attraction. She listened a great deal to what the others said, but stated very
little regarding herself. Her bluish eyes, unusual for a girl with such
jet-black hair, had sympathy for everyone. Gradually, Harry became positive
that she, of all persons aboard the Ozark, must be the most innocent of any
double-dealing.
He was convinced, too, that if a crisis came, his task of watching Ruth
Eldrey would become a matter of protection. That thought pleased Harry
Vincent.
Meanwhile, he had no difficulty in studying the other passengers, for
they
had forgotten everyone but Ruth. Harry had hopes of identifying some of them,
but they soon faded. Not one of the crowd remotely resembled any of the
persons
in the photograph that Harry had found in his cabin, where it had been left by
The Shadow.
Friends of Hugh Barvale seemed completely absent from the Ozark. Probably
none of them would think of taking a cruise on a dingy freighter, any more
than