Packensaw attractive for two other reasons.
First, the place had become a boom town, due to the establishment of new
industries. As an itinerant worker, Chet could easily escape notice in the
newly-thriving community. Second, Chet happened to know that Packensaw had first
gained industrial importance through the efforts of Humphrey Thorneau, who lived
on the outskirts of the boom town.
Chet wanted freedom until he could gain a fair hearing. He was confident
that Packensaw would provide the former; that Thorneau would give him the later.
Thus Chet's satisfaction was tinged with only one regret.
That regret concerned The Shadow, the intrepid, unknown battler who had
done so much in Chet's behalf. Though he hoped that his cloaked friend had
survived the conflict on the way freight, there was no sensible chance for Chet
to check on the situation. The Shadow had dropped off the train many miles
before it reached Crooked Junction.
CHET'S hopes concerning The Shadow were at that moment being realized by
the cloaked fighter, himself. Up from the river, The Shadow was retracing his
route along the branch line, hoping to find and question some survivor among the
crew that he had battled.
Hearing a sing of the rails behind him, The Shadow moved to deeper darkness
beside the right of way, without a swish from his water-soaked cloak. The sing
became a clatter and a motorized handcar rattled past, a powerful electric
lantern lighting the rails ahead of it.
Those weren't section hands riding the pop car, though The Shadow learned
it too late to stop them. Their big light was dancing like an overgrown
lightning bug, when they took the next curve. Instead of inspecting track, the
crew was looking for stragglers along the right of way.
Crooks were searching for their kind, whether dead or alive, to gather up
evidence of crime, along with possible squealers. Which proved to The Shadow
that this game went deeper than appeared, though as yet he had gained no clue to
the tunnel job that constituted crime's big ace in an actual hole.
The Shadow was still thinking in terms of Chet Conroy. Assuming that Chet
had continued his path to freedom, his future career would prove important.
However Chet figured as a scapegoat, crooks wouldn't care to have him remain at
large.
Though The Shadow had lost the trail far short of Crooked Junction, he
might cross it again, somewhere beyond. His calculations now concerned the
probable place, in terms of Chet's likely actions.
One man had shown a reasonable belief in the innocence of Chet Conroy; one
man among those who held the conference at the Pyrolac factory. That man was
Humphrey Thorneau and Chet would probably remember it. If so, he would logically
appeal to Thorneau as a friend.
The Shadow could also visit Thorneau. As his other self, Lamont Cranston,
The Shadow would be more than welcome, since Cranston, like Thorneau, was a man
of large investments who had much at stake in businesses that used products such
as Pyrolac. By arranging an appointment with Thorneau in the latter's home at
Packensaw, The Shadow could be on hand if new danger threatened Chet Conroy.
A whispered laugh stirred the darkness, like a tone of weird prophecy. The
Shadow had gained his answer. Should men of crime again find Chet Conroy, they
