"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 023 - The Shadow's Shadow" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

The great strength of The Shadow's secrecy lay in the fact that not even his agents knew his identity. This
fact came vividly to Harry Vincent's mind, as the young man breakfasted in the grillroom of the Metrolite
Hotel. He recalled his own experiences with The Shadow. They seemed like a chain of fantastic dreams.

Once—the event seemed long ago—Harry Vincent had attempted suicide. Poised upon the rail of a high
bridge, he had prepared for a death plunge to the depths below.

A hand had come from the blackness of a swirling night mist. Harry had been carried back to safety by a
grip of steel. In the rear seat of a luxurious limousine, he had listened to a whispered voice from invisible
lips.

Since then, Harry had obeyed the mandates of The Shadow. As a trusted operative, he had done his
appointed part in the unending war against crime. He had never lacked money, nor the comforts of life.

In return for them, he had faithfully followed The Shadow's bidding. No task was too large, no danger
was too great, to cow Harry Vincent. So long as he possessed the friendship of The Shadow, Harry was
a man without fear.

Excitement and adventures had followed Harry Vincent in every enterprise. His amazing experiences
were facts that he had told to no one. To serve The Shadow meant to preserve secrecy. Harry had never
yielded in this duty.

THERE were times when Harry remained temporarily idle. Sometimes, readiness was all that was
required. On other occasions, he was given complete leave of duty. When such spells arrived, Harry
usually left New York for a short visit home, to return when a special summons commanded him.

One of those periods was present now. Although Harry seldom let his mind speculate upon The
Shadow's possible activities, he could not help but wonder what his chief might be doing at present.

Perhaps there was a lull in super-crimes that attracted The Shadow's vigil. Perhaps The Shadow was
engaged somewhere other than New York.

Whatever the case might be, Harry would eventually receive orders from him —not directly, but through
the agency of a placid gentleman named Rutledge Mann. This chap was an investment broker, who had
recently occupied a new suite of offices on the twenty-first floor of the Grandville Building.

Like Harry Vincent, Rutledge Mann was an agent of The Shadow; but the duties of the two differed
widely. To Harry was given active work; whereas, Mann played a passive part. The investment broker
seldom left his desk during the daytime; there, he serenely investigated and assembled facts that he
obtained from various sources, to forward to The Shadow.

Finishing his breakfast, Harry went back into the lobby and began to read the morning newspaper.
Completing this perusal, he glanced at his watch, and summoned the porter. He asked for his key at the
desk, and went to an elevator, with the porter at his heels.

Harry's room was 1408, at the end of a long corridor on the fourteenth floor. Walking along the gloomy
passage, Harry found his thoughts again turning to The Shadow.

Curiously enough, he was wondering how long this vacation might last. It would probably end with a
cryptic summons, sent through Rutledge Mann.