"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 241 - Vengeance Bay" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

He wasn't picking human targets; he was punching out the lights that illuminated the place. Blinks
accompanied The Shadow's bullets; with the final shot, the Barnacle was plunged in darkness.

Leaving the riffraff to scuffle among themselves, The Shadow wheeled out to the street and immediately
took to cover. The commotion in the dive was bringing all the police in the neighborhood, and they were
numerous, for the Barnacle had a reputation as a brawl trap.

As the bluecoats poured into the place, The Shadow heard the smash of furniture, the crash of glassware.
Taking a course across the street, he reached his cab.

Much against his wishes, The Shadow had placed a certain man in jeopardy. That man, was Vedo Bron.
It was quite likely that Speed Falley would explain himself to the police, perhaps by helping them quell
the riot that The Shadow had caused. But Bron wasn't anxious to have his whereabouts known, nor to let
anyone learn of his connection with Speed.

Bron's own cab had left; the best The Shadow could do was offer Moe's. So he told the cabby to swing
past the alley that formed an outlet from the rear room of the Barnacle. There, The Shadow caught a
glimpse of Bron, with Speed steering him toward the street. But the pair withdrew suddenly as a police
car arrived with siren whining.

Forming a new plan, The Shadow told Moe to stop at the next corner. There, divesting himself of hat and
cloak, he stepped from the cab.

The Shadow's appearance had completely changed. No longer a figure in black, he was clad in evening
clothes as immaculate as Bron's. Indeed, in the rather meager light of the water front, he looked almost
the twin of the famed refugee.

Sending Moe along, with instructions to remain handy, The Shadow strolled back toward the Barnacle.
He'd left his guns in the cab, along with his black garb, for he intended to approach the police openly. If
arrested and searched, he could simply introduce himself as Lamont Cranston, a friend of the police
commissioner.

The Shadow intended to submit to such a process should he find Bron in custody for he was sure that he
could use his Cranston personality to effect Bron's release, also. He would recognize Bron as a friend
and state that they had both come to this neighborhood merely as a lark.

For the present, however, The Shadow's approach was wary, since there was no need for surrender
unless Bron had been arrested.

Nothing was happening at the alley. Near the entrance to the Barnacle, the strolling Mr. Cranston saw
the police bringing out the participants in the recent fray. Evidently, the hunt hadn't carried to the rear
room, for neither Bron nor Speed was among the prisoners.

Turning, The Shadow strolled across the street, and the officers who saw him made no effort to halt him.
They decided that anyone so well attired could not possibly have come from the Barnacle.

It was a prosaic finish to an exciting affair, and The Shadow rather regretted it. His only course was to
stroll around the block, meet up with Moe's cab, and cruise the neighborhood for a while. It wasn't even
necessary to watch for Bron's later departure. The Shadow knew that Bron was going to a place called
Massaquoit Bay, and would be well protected, meanwhile, by Speed Falley.