"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 101 - The Gray Ghost" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

The coupe purred softly, as The Shadow drove out to the road. In even tones, The Shadow briefly
divulged developments to Harry. A short ride brought them to the vicinity of Windler's residence. The
Shadow parked the car in darkness; he instructed Harry to be ready at the wheel. That order given, The
Shadow stepped from the coupe.

While awaiting Harry, The Shadow had donned garb of black. A shrouded figure in the darkness, he
moved invisibly to the walls of Windler's house. Police had ended their vigil; nevertheless, The Shadow
was cautious as he utilized a tiny flashlight. Rays fell only upon spots of The Shadow's choosing; the light,
itself was muffled in the folds of his cloak. Harry, back in the car, could not observe the blinks.

Windler's grounds had been well scoured. The Shadow, however, had a purpose of his own. Beginning
below the window through which the Gray Ghost had escaped, he examined the flower bed. The earth
was soft and uneven; it bore no footprints.

The Shadow knew that the Gray Ghost had not lingered after his flight from Windler's. Therefore, The
Shadow sought evidence of some prearrangement. His flashlight showed wide-spaced streaks in the dirt.
The Shadow saw a probability.

The murderer had prepared for his swift exit by placing some soft covering upon the flower bed. Landing
upon it, he had made no definite footprints. A simple dragging process, accomplished with removal of the
covering, had enabled him to avoid leaving a clue.

The ground about Windler's was hard. The police had found no traces of the Gray Ghost's path. Since
the killer had headed for Debrossler's, the law had naturally searched in the direction of the road. The
Shadow tried the opposite procedure. He moved across the lawn in the direction of the Sound.

THE SHADOW came to a high stone wall, which formed an extension of a hedge on the Sound side of
the house. The police had been thorough enough to examine the thick hedge. Finding no breaks in it, they
had gone elsewhere. They had entirely neglected the wall; for it was the most difficult route by which any
one could have departed.

With a springing leap, The Shadow clutched the top of the wall, a good eight feet above the ground. He
scaled the barrier, poised upon a broad ledge and used the flashlight. The wall was of stone; the top
cracks were filled with mortar. The Shadow found crumbled patches of stone; against a roughened,
mica-tinted edge, he discovered a strand of gray.

It was a thread from the Gray Ghost's jersey.

Leaning over the far edge of the wall, The Shadow shone the flashlight downward. The glare showed
dust, streaked like the dirt of the flower bed. The Gray Ghost had dropped his blanketing cloth from the
top of the wall. Leaping off, he had again avoided footprints.

Dropping from the wall, The Shadow used his flashlight along rough, tufted ground that produced a tiny
path leading toward the Sound. He knew that he was following directly upon the Gray Ghost's trail, even
though no new clues marked the path.

The Shadow's opinion was well-founded. He had seen through the murderer's game.

Leaving Windler's, the Gray Ghost had held two desires. One was to cover his trail; the other was to
reach Debrossler's. He had, therefore, chosen a course that would serve both purposes.