Выбрать главу

Responses of acclamation followed as the leader stepped into the car. The big machine moved along the street. Senov gave a destination to the driver. He named an airport outside the limits of Moscow.

Back by the invaded house, Senov’s last order was repeated. It was carried to the men inside the building. With one accord, they hurried from the place, forgetting the trapped soldiers whom they had been so desirous to capture and slay.

SILENCE now dominated the scene. Dead bodies lay upon the floor. There was no motion of the door that led to the room where the three guards had fled. The men within suspected a trap awaiting them.

Long minutes went by. They were solemn minutes, a strange anticlimax to those exciting moments that had gone before. Then, a slight motion took place at the door of the passage. The forbidding darkness became a living shape. Into the room of destruction stepped a tall man clad in black.

The Shadow had reached Moscow! He had raced thousands of miles, by sea and by air, to find this spot before the attack of death had been launched!

He had come here to investigate; to learn the intent of those who were to work at Froman’s bidding. By a freak of fate, Michael Senov had struck just before The Shadow had reached his final destination.

Standing in the center of the room, The Shadow formed a strange, grotesque figure as he surveyed the scene. His sharp eyes were upon the floor, noting the marks of conflict, reconstructing the fierce events that had taken place.

Spying the half-opened door that led to the stairway, The Shadow strode in that direction. Boldly, he descended into the depths below. One flight down, he discovered an unused gas mask that had been carried up and dropped. Donning it, the man in black continued the descent.

In the loopholed room, he saw the opened trap, which Senov had not stopped to close. The Shadow descended the spiral staircase. A flashlight gleamed as he inspected the room where the jewels had been.

The light showed along the top of the table, as a black hand touched the surface. Then the rays were shifted to the floor.

There, the hand drew a tiny, glistening object from the crack between two floor boards.

His inspection here completed, The Shadow ascended the spiral stairs, and continued upward until he was beyond the range of the deadly gas that still pervaded the lower depths. Here, he removed his gas mask.

The brim of the slouch hat turned toward the black-clad hands. The hidden eyes studied the gem which lay in the palm of one glove.

A laugh rippled eerily through the stone-walled corridor as The Shadow waited. The shuddering sound died away. A pause; then The Shadow seemed to detect a sound from above. His hands disappeared beneath his cloak. When next they emerged, they held two automatics.

Upward went The Shadow until he reached the open door at the top of the stairs. Watching from the darkness, he saw what had caused the sound. The door at the other side of the room was open also. A man in uniform was peering cautiously forth.

Satisfied that the enemy had left, the beleaguered soldier summoned his companions. One man seized the telephone and began to shout wild words into the mouthpiece. Another went to inspect the outer passage. The third came directly toward the place where The Shadow was standing.

Revolver in hand, the soldier blundered squarely into the man in black. With upraised gun, he found himself staring at the flashing eyes beneath the brim of the slouch hat.

Before he could emit a shout, the soldier staggered. A black-clad arm swept about his neck, and twisted him violently to the floor.

“They are on the way!” This cry, in Russian, came from the soldier at the telephone. “They have already learned that there has been trouble here!”

He turned toward the inner door, thinking that his companion would hear his words. Instead of the other soldier, he saw the advancing form of The Shadow.

Leaping to his feet, the startled soldier swung his gun toward the menacing figure. The Shadow, anxious to prevent a shot of alarm, swung one automatic at the fellow’s wrist.

The blow struck and drove aside the covering revolver just as the soldier’s finger pressed the trigger. The shot resounded; then the gun clattered to the floor as The Shadow delivered another blow. The soldier sought to grapple with his adversary; then dropped away, cowering with upraised arms as The Shadow covered him.

The third freed soldier dashed in from the outer passage. He stopped short as he saw The Shadow. The man in black was facing the door, with one gun turned toward the cowering soldier, the other covering the passage.

The newcomer saw that his position was hopeless. He let his revolver fall from his hand, and sullenly raised both arms.

IN a low, whispered voice, The Shadow spoke. His words were in Russian. The soldier by the outer door understood. He walked stolidly toward his companion, never once taking his eyes from the man who commanded him.

The Shadow swept toward the door, and stood there momentarily, preparing for a quick departure.

It was during that short wait that he sensed another sound. With a quick motion, he side-stepped from the doorway. Hurried footsteps were beating along the outer passage.

A uniformed officer burst into the room, followed by a squad of soldiers. The leader was carrying an automatic; the other men were armed with rifles.

The Shadow was trapped!

The officer spied the men with upraised arms. He turned in the direction of their gaze. As he did so, he saw The Shadow.

The black-clad figure acted quickly. Before the rescuing squad had realized his presence, while the red-faced officer was staring in astonishment at the figure before him, The Shadow swung to the attack.

His long arms whirled swiftly as he hurled himself into the group of soldiers. Two men staggered back from stunning blows. Turning from the midst of the crowd, The Shadow fired at the officer. The bullet struck the man’s gun arm.

Swinging with the butt ends of their rifles, the soldiers sought to overcome this amazing assailant who had materialized among them. Firing, The Shadow blazed a path through the fighting men. A moment later, he was lost in the blackness of the passage.

Soldiers followed in pursuit, but The Shadow had gained the outer door before they were on their way.

Reaching the alley, The Shadow turned in the direction of the street.

Simultaneously, a terrific glare illuminated the entire area. An armored car had arrived at the entrance to the alley. Its searchlight was turned on at the very instant The Shadow sought that direction for escape!

Master of darkness that he was, The Shadow could not elude that brilliant light. His tall form was plainly revealed to the men in the armored car.

Turning, The Shadow looked in the other direction. The alley was a cul-de-sac, ending in a blank wall.

The only way of egress lay by a low window near the rear of the house across the alley.

With swift stride, the trapped superman leaped for the one spot of safety. Scarcely had he gained it when the rattle of a machine gun burst from the armored car. The hail of bullets swept the alley which The Shadow had deserted.

The machine gun stopped its fire as the pursuing soldiers rushed forth into the glare of the searchlight.

Men dashed in from the street, pointing to the direction which The Shadow had taken. Loud cries carried the alarm. Soldiers were arriving from all directions.

Troops were surrounding the building into which The Shadow had fled. It was a partly occupied apartment house, but was kept vacant, by design, upon the side which The Shadow had entered. Other soldiers were entering the house where the Czarists had made their successful attack.