"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 336 - Blackmail Bay" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

comments that you hear; then skip along until you come to another name and do
the same. I shall let you know when Hobbs arrives to take you up to the Moffat
House."


III

IT was after seven o'clock when Hobbs came with his antique jitney. Dusk
was settling over Hiram's Cove as he and Margo wheezed past it along the road
to Moffat's Point. Straight ahead loomed Hiram's Head, its bulk obviously
responsible for the thickening gloom, because as soon as they took the sharp
turn toward the right, Cobosco Bay came into sight, glistening in the
varicolored glow of a lingering sunset.
By then, Hobbs had said but little, simply mentioning that Lew Barton had
gone back to Gosport on the 'Priscilla' when she left on her sunset trip to
Baxter Harbor. But now, Hobbs became effusive as he pointed across the bay to
a
chunk of land that was sprinkled with cottages and boat houses.
"That there," stated Hobbs, "is Round Island, owned by a city fellow
named
Wilby Weldon, who rents out cottages and speed-boats to summer people who have
'most as much money as he has."
Rattling further northward, the old car jounced over a rise in the road
and come in sight of a sprawly, three-story building partly surrounded by an
old-fashioned porch.
"And this here," continued Hobbs, "is the Moffat House, right plumb on
Moffat Point. Owned by Madge Moffat, the last of the family; and there she is,
waiting on the piazza. She must have heard us acoming."
Madge Moffat was a brisk, athletic type of woman who welcomed Margo in a
deep-toned voice while Hobbs was unloading the bags from the car trunk. About
then, a keen-eyed, bearded man arose from a porch chair and sauntered up to
join them.
"This is Lester Blake," introduced Madge Moffat. "He is an artist who
stays here during the off-season and paints seascapes. Now that you are here,
Miss Lane, we will have supper."
During the meal, Margo admired paintings that were hanging on the dining
room wall and learned they were samples of Blake's work. All portrayed the bay
and its islands; and Madge Moffat bought them from Blake to sell to guests
during the regular season. After supper, Blake carried Margo's bags up a side
stairway to a corner room on the second floor, while Miss Madge come along to
see that all was in order.
"I've given you the Lookout Room," Madge told Margo. "This was where they
watched for boats coming into the bay."
Hardly was Margo alone before a sudden recollection struck her. Clear as
a
bell, she recalled Cranston's parting words: "When you reach the lookout, look
out." This room was the Lookout! But what did the rest of Lamont's cryptic
statement mean? Was it a warning to look out for danger here? As Margo mulled
over that, her mind went back to Madge's parting statement that this was where
they watched for boats coming into the bay. Acting on that, Margo turned out