"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 231 - Garden of Death" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

more details that he needed. True, he was also the unknown prowler whose return Weston somewhat
anticipated; but that was purely incidental.

The Shadow expected no foolish tangle with blundering police. He intended to accomplish a single
mission; that of discovering the actual source of the death that had reached three men in one simultaneous
stroke.

CHAPTER V. CREATURES OF NIGHT
IT was very dark in Bendleton's cellar, a fact which pleased The Shadow. There was moonlight
outdoors, and since none of the glow filtered indoors, it was safe to assume that a light, inside, would not
be noticed by the patrolling police.

The Shadow turned on the light in question. It was close to a large furnace, which occupied a
compartment of its own.

Though an oil burner, the furnace was flanked by ancient coalbins, their windows heavily boarded, since
they were no longer used. This explained why no light could escape the compartment. But it wasn't
wholly soundproof. The Shadow could hear the approach of a car out front.

He turned out the light and stole back to the rear of the cellar, stopping at a window that he had used for
entry.

Men paced past outside; then halted. The Shadow heard a gruff voice that he recognized. It belonged to
Inspector Joe Cardona, a very able police official. Cardona had been out of town that afternoon;
otherwise, he would have handled the Bendleton case from the start. Apparently, Joe was on it now, but
didn't feel much flattered.

"Never mind about showing me inside," Cardona gruffed to the cops. "In one breath, the commissioner
orders me out here; in the next, he tells me he's learned everything he needs. Looks like he only meant
me to check up on you fellows.

"I'll stay around a half hour, until you two are relieved. We'll take a look inside, then, because there'll be
four of us, instead of two. It will mean a quicker check-up inside. Routine stuff, but the commissioner
likes it."

Deciding to profit by the half hour, The Shadow returned to the furnace and again turned on the light. The
furnace was a large one, with its main pipe leading backward at an angle. The space was low beneath the
pipe, and so dark that The Shadow had to use his flashlight when he crouched within it.

His probe brought immediate results. Against the tinny surface of the pipe, The Shadow found two blobs
that looked like solder, spaced six inches apart. Turning the flashlight downward, he discovered tiny dabs
of silvery metal on the floor. Removing a glove, The Shadow tested the warmth of the furnace pipe. His
laugh was whispered.

These were clues that would ordinarily pass unnoticed. Apparently someone had done a small solder job
on the pipe, which was slightly dented. But the dent was recent, otherwise, rust would have shown
through the marred paint. The dent, like the solder, could have been applied today. The warmth of the
pipe fitted with The Shadow's theory.
Someone - probably the electric man mentioned by Fay - had attached a cylinder made of some
low-melting substance directly to the furnace pipe. The thermostat that controlled the heat had done the