“Of course,” said Carter calmly. “Very thoughtful of you, Drew.”
Headley entered while Carter was eating. The attendant cleared away the remaining dishes and went stolidly about his duty. Very few words were exchanged between Carter and Drew. Each appeared quite engrossed in his own thoughts.
Carter’s mind was still picturing the scene in the library. The young man wondered if Drew Westling chanced to be considering it also. Nothing could be gained by silence; moreover, it would be wise not to mention that particular subject. Finishing his dessert, Carter opened a quiet but friendly conversation into which Drew entered with increasing vivacity.
BACK in the quiet library, the curtain moved once again; this time in darkness, for Carter Boswick had extinguished the lamp. A tiny light glimmered, held by an unseen hand. It ran along the bookshelves and stopped at two volumes that were very slightly out of place.
A black-gloved hand removed the two volumes of “The Three Musketeers.” The books were placed upon the table there, the flashlight glowed while fingers went through their pages.
A low, laugh-like whisper came from lips in the dark. The Shadow, following a clew that he had gained, had arrived after Carter Boswick had inspected these very books. A slight yielding of one volume at a certain spot indicated the place from which Carter had removed a message.
The books closed. The hands replaced them upon the shelf. The Shadow’s light went out. The whisper died away in the darkness as an unseen form passed from the library, reached the hall, and looked into the dining room, where Carter still chatted with his cousin.
The figure moved toward the rear of the house. Soon it was gone. It reappeared momentarily from the side porch, and crossed the driveway toward the bushes. There, The Shadow listened. There was no sound.
Vigilant watchers were no longer here. The Shadow had detected them upon their arrival; now he discovered that they had left.
Why?
The Shadow, even though he had arrived late in the library, sensed the explanation. The young Boswick, The Shadow knew, had found some message.
Had word of that finding been passed to those outside? Would an attack be made tonight?
Possibly; although the sudden departure of the watchers made it unlikely.
There was another explanation.
Some one within the house could have learned what Carter Boswick had found; or could even have taken whatever the young man had discovered. These watchers could have left with important information.
The Shadow had waited long in the upstairs study, believing that Carter Boswick had either failed to discover the meaning of his father’s letter, or would have waited to follow instructions later in the evening. It was Carter’s prompt actions that had blocked The Shadow’s careful plan of previous inspection.
Much might have happened during that unanticipated interim. But The Shadow, even when he encountered ill fortune, never faltered. This strange personage had a weird ability to turn all events to his advantage. Such would be his plan tonight.
The stealthy figure made no sound, nor did it show itself as it moved across the lawn. Darkness seemed to swallow The Shadow as he set forth.
It was not until later that another figure made its appearance within the confines of the Boswick estate. A young man, cautious, but by no means invisible, took up his vigil at a convenient spot some distance from the house.
Harry Vincent, agent of The Shadow, had been summoned to keep watch and to report on Carter Boswick’s actions. That would be his duty for the present. The Shadow, himself, had other work to do.
Into the darkness he had gone; within darkness would he remain. From somewhere, unseen, he would plan his campaign of swift action. The Shadow, alone, could frustrate the designs of those who had gained the stolen clew!
CHAPTER X
CARTER TAKES A TRIP
CARTER Boswick possessed an amazing faculty for walking into trouble. In Havana, aboard the Southern Star, he had deliberately stepped into difficulties. That same oddity was due to manifest itself again.
Had Carter Boswick failed to remember the latitude and longitude mentioned in the message he had found, he would no longer have been a factor in the grim game which Hub Rowley was playing. The Shadow, shrouded in darkness, knew well who was seeking the information which Carter had discovered.
Hence the course of The Shadow’s investigation lay toward Hub Rowley. But The Shadow, wise in all procedure, had not neglected Carter Boswick as a possibility.
Nor had Hub Rowley.
When morning was well under way, the Boswick mansion was under surveillance from two directions, watched by men of opposing sides, neither of whom knew the others were on the job.
Harry Vincent, agent of The Shadow, was lounging by the side of his coupe at a filling station across the highway from the Boswick home. Stacks Lodi, underling of Hub Rowley, was eating a belated breakfast in a little restaurant a few hundred yards farther down the road.
Meanwhile, within the big house, Carter Boswick was announcing plans. Those arrangements, from their very start, were destined to bring the young man back into the zone of action, making him a principal factor in the battle for wealth. For Carter, after a night of troubled sleep, had decided definitely to follow the lead that he had found in his father’s message.
This meant that now, more than before, Carter Boswick would be slated for elimination by Hub Rowley. It also meant that he would be of vital importance to The Shadow — as a short cut to the information which The Shadow now was seeking to obtain.
Without realizing it, Carter was making himself a pawn on the board that lay between two shrewd and relentless players.
Yet Carter felt that he was taking every precaution when he spoke to both Drew Westling and Headley, in the dining room where he and his cousin had just finished breakfast.
“I intend to establish my residence here,” declared Carter. “Nevertheless it is essential that I follow business plans which I made before I left Montevideo. I represent a large South American importing house. My trip to New York was intended purely as a step toward a further business voyage to Europe.
“My original intention was to remain here a few weeks; then to go to Paris and Berlin. My father’s death has caused me to change my plans. I must conclude the obligation which I owe to my associates in Montevideo; then I shall be free entirely. The sooner I discharge my duty, the better.
“Therefore, I shall book passage for Europe at once. I shall he back in New York within six weeks, and this will then become my permanent home. With Farland Tracy handling the affairs of the estate, there should be no obstacle in the arrangement. If you choose to remain here, Drew, you are welcome to do so—”
“Never mind about me,” interrupted Drew Westling. “I’ll stay here when you’re here, Carter; but in the meantime, I’d as soon drop away for a while. I’ll move into the club as soon as you leave.”
“Which will be to-day,” remarked Carter, in an offhand tone. “I plan to go by way of Montreal and the St. Lawrence waterway. So I should like to start for Canada this evening.”
“Suits me,” returned Drew.
“As for you, Headley,” stated Carter, “you can resume your old duties of caretaker. The house will be closed; you can stay wherever you choose.”
“Very well, sir,” said the solemn attendant.
“That settled everything, then,” concluded Carter. “I have packed sufficient luggage. I shall start for the city at once. Call a cab, Headley.”
WHEN Carter Boswick’s taxi rolled forth from the driveway, it became a target for watching eyes. Harry Vincent, nonchalantly stepping into his coupe, took up immediate pursuit. Stacks Lodi hurried from the restaurant and entered a sedan which had Scully at the wheel.