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

unusual developments from this case of mistaken identity.

CHAPTER VI. HARRY REPORTS
THE next afternoon found Harry Vincent at the Holmwood Beach Club. He was seated on the veranda,
watching events upon the pier. Bathers were diving from the springboard; others were swimming near the
beach.

Harry had gained an introduction at the club. He had driven out from New York at noon, armed with a
letter from an investment broker named Rutledge Mann. The letter had given him entree. Mann knew the
manager of the Holmwood Beach Club.

The club had accommodations for overnight guests, but few persons availed themselves of the privilege.
Harry had found no difficulty in obtaining a room; he had also had a chance to study the club register and
note the names of those who had stayed there the night before. There were only half a dozen on the list.

Idling on the veranda, Harry considered a mental picture which he had long since formed. It was one that
The Shadow had given him—a description of the man who could have played the Gray Ghost. Detail by
detail, The Shadow had listed the wanted man's qualifications.

The man, should Harry find him, would be at least six feet tall and one hundred and eighty pounds in
weight. He would have brawny arms, for he was a capable oarsman. Chances were that he would prove
to be an excellent swimmer; also a sportsman. The murderer of Hiram Windler had relied upon a single
shot with a revolver. He would be good with a gun.

The man would have social status. The fact that he had been a guest at last night's dance indicated that
point. The Shadow had come to the conclusion that the Gray Ghost would not have taken a chance in the
populated vicinity of the Holmwood Beach Club unless he had possessed good reason for being there.

So far, Harry had learned only one matter of consequence. The rowboat that the Gray Ghost had used
was the property of the club. Thus it gave no clue to the Gray Ghost's identity; but it did substantiate The
Shadow's belief that the man had been a guest at the club. Otherwise, he might have had difficulty in
learning about the boat's ownership.

While he lounged on the veranda, Harry realized that his choice of suspects must be one of elimination.
Even if he found a man who fitted the description given, that person might be some one other than the
Gray Ghost. The result might be that Harry would find several persons to watch.

TALK was rife concerning the Gray Ghost. Persons who stopped on the club veranda gave their
versions of the crimes that had taken place last night. The Gray Ghost's depredations had produced one
important result: Residents of Long Island were arming for the future.

Influential residents of Holmwood had applied for gun permits. They had been granted the privilege.
Towns farther out along the Sound were copying the example of Holmwood. Though superstitious
servants might regard the Gray Ghost as a phantom murderer, land owners certainly considered him to
be a human being. Last night's robbery had marked the largest endeavor in a series of successful thefts.
Long Island intended to gun for the Gray Ghost.

Yet there was rumor that the Gray Ghost was superhuman. People were ready to believe it; skeptical
laughs were half-hearted when the subject was mentioned. The facts were that the Gray Ghost had
vanished after each crime. Then there was the matter of his supposed return.