"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 268 - Murder Lake" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

"A century. It wasn't much, split three ways."

Shep's testimony was dwindling in importance. The district attorney was asking the police chief about
Echo Cave; how safe it would be to enter.
Men were answering, stating that the rear of the cave was blocked with loose stones, past which a
person could probably squeeze, though no one had tried it.

There was one man who did not wait to hear those details; he had taken them for granted. His name was
Lamont Cranston, and he was gone. At that moment he was stepping into a car that had just arrived, a
coupe driven by Harry Vincent.

In the gathering dusk, Cranston merged with the darkness within the car. What aided the way he slid
from sight was the black cloak that he drew across his shoulders, the slouch hat that he placed upon his
head.

His voice, when it spoke, was no longer Cranston's. It was a low-toned whisper belonging to that most
singular of beings - The Shadow!

In two words, The Shadow named his destination:

"Echo Cave!"

CHAPTER II. WANTED BELOW
SPEEDING along the road to Echo Cave, Harry Vincent reported on Bert Bevry. He told how he had
learned the man's name, and described a brief trail which he had followed. Bevry had driven about ten
miles to a neighboring town, where he had left the car and caught an express train into New York.

How much money Bevry had found in Endorf's cash box, Harry didn't know; but he had taken all of it
because Harry had picked up the cash box later from a trash can in the station. He had brought it back to
Dalebury and driven directly to the city hall on the chance that Cranston would still be there.

In fact, Harry had found time to send a wire to Rutledge Mann, The Shadow's contact man - or, rather,
one of them - in New York. Thus, other agents would be posted to watch for Bevry when he arrived.

Finding Echo Cave was easy. You couldn't miss it after leaving Dalebury, for until recently the cavern had
been the town's most important attraction, and all along the road were signs pointing to the cavern.
Swinging into a side road which constituted the last stretch, Harry was about to turn on the lights when
The Shadow stopped him with a warning.

"Somebody may be here ahead of us."

"Shep's pals?" began Harry. "Why, they wouldn't take the chance of -"

"Not Shep's pals," interposed The Shadow. "The persons who received Bevry's call."

"But Bevry skipped with Endorf's money."

"Exactly." The Shadow's low laugh was reminiscent. "But Endorf is not a man who would lay himself
open to such simple embezzlement. That cash was a price that Endorf paid to Bevry."