Lost from the outside world, pacing through strange corridors of irregular formation, seeing only tree trunks that looked alike, the two pursued their direct way through the grove. They could not tell exactly how far they had gone. The laden boughs above seemed as limitless as the sea.
Not even the twitter of a bird came from the branches above. Not even the buzz of an insect could be heard beneath the trees. They were in a grove of gloom — within the spell of a doomed area that pressed its silent warning like an enfolding pall.
They were nearing the center of the grove, now. Mildred was sure of that, yet despite her fear, the girl kept pace with the man beside her.
Had some strange fate befallen Harvey Chittenden? Mildred could not tell. She only knew that the oppressiveness of this terrible spot signified that some dread disaster was awaiting!
CHAPTER XX. TRUTH IS TOLD
HARVEY CHITTENDEN was well into the grove of doom before his startled mind began to realize the menacing atmosphere of the strange area beneath the beeches. Despite the ardor that had brought him on the search, the young man stopped and stood hesitant.
Some weird fear was clutching his heart. He was afraid to go on, yet his pride would not allow him to return. Slowly, he began a new advance; then stopped short in instinctive dread as something rose to block his path.
Before him, rising almost from nothingness, stood a tall form garbed in black. Like a ghostly inhabitant of this dread domain, The Shadow was here to prevent Harvey Chittenden’s progress.
Wild thoughts whirled through Harvey’s brain. Was this the menace of the grove, this black-clad being who seemed a portion of the spectral gloom? No — quick recollection transported Harvey’s thoughts back to the night when Zachary and the mobsmen had attacked. Then, The Shadow had come to save him. Why should The Shadow threaten him now?
Afraid to budge, Harvey stood motionless, awaiting The Shadow’s bidding. It came. A low, barely whispered voice, issued a firm command.
“Lie down. Stay close to the trees. Do not move!”
The tones were sibilant, like the sigh of a light wind. Yet every syllable was clear to Harvey Chittenden.
He could not disobey this strange command. Dropping to the ground, he crawled beside the nearest tree trunk, and remained there, while The Shadow’s tall shape glided close beside him.
“Not a sound,” came The Shadow’s whisper. “Say nothing! Wait!”
Harvey waited. Slow minutes went by. He could see the burning eyes beneath the black-rimmed hat. The Shadow was gazing intently over the path on which Harvey Chittenden had come. The young man stared in that direction. Half hidden behind the tree trunk, he sensed the approach of others across that brown-carpeted stretch.
Harvey saw The Shadow no longer, yet he made no effort to go against the orders he had received.
Gripping the tree trunk, striving madly to shake off the terrible, unreasoning fear that had settled over him, he saw his wife, Mildred, coming through the trees, accompanied by his friend, Craig Ware.
A slight rustle beside him reminded Harvey of The Shadow’s presence. He looked toward the being in black. He saw a gloved hand clutching a small round object; then the hand disappeared beneath the cloak and returned, carrying an automatic. Harvey stared toward the approachers. He was afraid to emit a cry; and, somehow, he trusted in The Shadow.
CRAIG WARE and Mildred Chittenden walked directly past the spot where the young man was watching. They did not see Harvey. Turning to follow them with his eyes, Harvey noticed that The Shadow was no longer beside him. Then with bulging eyes, Harvey realized that The Shadow had gone ahead, farther into the fastness of this strange grove.
Mildred Chittenden stopped suddenly as Craig Ware grasped her arm. The showman spoke in a low, quiet voice. His words were plain to Harvey, farther back. To Mildred, Craig’s voice carried a menacing note as the gloom of the grove seemed to muffle its bass tones.
“We are near the center of the grove,” declared Ware. “Close to the danger zone. It is here that we shall stop.”
“But where is Harvey?” whispered Mildred fearfully.
“He is with the others,” came Ware’s cryptic reply.
Mildred stared squarely into the showman’s eyes. Now, the girl’s body shuddered with the greatest fear that she had known since her advent to Lower Beechview. Ware’s eyes were glistening with a fiendish glow — a strange, incredible light that Mildred had never before seen in them. Was this a hallucination, caused by the strange surroundings?
Mildred gasped as she realized that Craig Ware had suddenly developed the appearance of a fierce, insidious fiend! The showman’s previous words came to her lips in a frightened echo.
“With the others—”
“With the others,” hissed Ware, with a wicked grin. “With Walter Pearson, the lawyer. With Calvin Merrick, the wise detective. With Galbraith, Wilbur, and Zachary. Four Chittendens have died beside this spot!”
The man paused with a fiendish leer. Then, as he fairly spat words from his lips, Ware continued:
“You ask me how I know?” His question was a fearful laugh. “I shall tell you — before you, too, are dead. It is I who have caused these deaths, to exterminate all who were connected with the evil line of Chittendens.
“You call me Craig Ware. That is but part of my name. My full name is Craig Ware Chittenden. I am the only son of Sidney Chittenden, the eldest brother, who should have inherited the great estate of Upper Beechview.
“I have the certificates to prove my claim. I was born just after my father died. My mother told me the story of my father’s unhappy life. For years, I have nourished one great scheme of vengeance.
“I searched for all who bore the name of Chittenden, hoping that I could harm those of this last line. I met your husband, Harvey. I heard his story. I became his friend — so he supposed. I came here to arrange the deaths of the others; then to send Harvey to his doom.
“I have succeeded. You, as Harvey’s widow, must also die. Then I shall depart — and months from now Craig Chittenden, last of all the family, son of Sidney, shall come into his own! There is a menace in this grove — a menace of my making. It killed those who knew too much. It killed those who blocked my ambition. You, too, must die, for you are the last barrier — and now you know my story.”
Mildred Chittenden could not move. She realized it all now. Bewilderment was on her face as she tried to piece the portions of this terrible drama.
Craig Chittenden saw her puzzlement. He laughed.
“It was I who talked to Lei Chang,” he explained. “I, not Harvey. It was Jessup whom you saw going from the house to the grove. Jessup was my man. I am glad that he is dead. I need him no longer. He carried rabbits to the grove and dead bodies from it. Hardened in barrels of cement, the corpses were cast to the bottom of the Sound!”
IT all seemed incredulous to Mildred. Despite her fear, she could not help but question this fiend who threatened her with death. An insane notion seemed to grip her mind.
“Jessup — bringing rabbits — to Lei Chang—”
Craig Ware was sneering as he gazed with pitiless eye. The girl’s silly perplexity pleased him. He made no answer.
“Rabbits — rabbits—”
Still Mildred repeated the words. Still Ware leered.
“Rabbits” — the word was uttered in a spectral tone close beside the pair — “of course there were rabbits. They were to feed Koon Woon.”
Simultaneously Ware and Mildred swung in the direction of the voice. A look of terror came over Ware’s hardened face. A gasp of hope emerged from Mildred’s lips. Five feet away, tall and mysterious, stood The Shadow!