Without further ado, Harry carried the chart into Carter’s room, and awakened his friend. They turned on another light, and examined the map together. A cry of elation came from Carter as he noted two cross lines, labeled, each in turn:
Lat. 46° 18 ‘N.
Long. 88° 12’ W.
The mining cabin was located a short distance from where the lines crossed. From the cabin, a lightly dotted course extended up the hillside. It showed the exact location of the cavern which The Shadow had discovered.
Harry found another portion of the map, and traced his own course, leading from the distant road where they had parked the coupe, directly to the indicated spot upon the hill.
“My directions,” said Harry, in a low voice, “are to the spot on the hillside, avoiding the cabin if possible. We can do that without difficulty. If our enemies decide to return and watch the cabin, they will be guarding an empty bag.”
“Great!” agreed Carter. “But what about this place on the hill?”
“The message stated that we will find a trail blazed for us. Tiny marks hewed in the trees and on the rocks, beginning from the barrier of woods marked near the entrance.”
“Good,” commented Carter. “Say, Harry, it looks as though we are getting somewhere.”
“Sh-h!” Harry raised his hand in sudden warning. He arose and started toward his own room, Carter following. Harry crept to the door that led to the hall, and listened.
“What’s up?” questioned Carter.
“Thought I heard some one in the hall,” answered Harry.
THE two listened tensely. Whatever sound Harry had heard was ended now. But Harry’s suspicion was not groundless. Some one had actually tried the door of the room, and had inadvertently made a noise. The same man was trying the door of Carter Boswick’s room at present — this time with success.
While Harry and Carter were at the door of the one room, the door of the other opened softly, and Stacks Lodi entered. Stationed across the hall from Harry’s room, he had seen, through his own transom, the sudden gleam of light from Harry’s.
In Carter Boswick’s room, Stacks Lodi spied an object lying on the table. It was The Shadow’s chart. The man stepped softly forward and reached to take it; then paused and studied the map. His eyes saw the dotted line running from the cabin to the spot on the hillside.
Stacks Lodi grinned. Hearing a sound from the adjoining room, he hastened softly to the hall. The door closed behind him just as Harry and Carter entered.
“Guess there’s no one there.” observed Carter. “You say the marks will lead us from the trees—”
“Sh-h!” warned Harry.
He closed the transom over Carter’s door. He picked up the chart and folded it.
“We will start this afternoon,” explained Harry. “We can reach the place at dusk. There will be enough light to guide us; but the darkness will enable us to work unseen.”
After a final study of the chart, in which Carter, as well as Harry, memorized the detail, Harry tore up the paper and burned it with a match flame. He crumpled the ashes in a little tray, and threw them from the window.
“We’ve got all day to wait,” mused Carter. “Just the same, it’s best. We might as well drive out at noon, Harry, and circle around until we get where we’re going. You can’t tell — some one may be spying on us here.”
Harry nodded thoughtfully. The noise that he had fancied at his door might mean the presence of a hidden foe. He resolved that it would be wise to head south in the coupe, and then turn back; but he decided that it would not be necessary to leave as early as noon.
THE morning developed drearily, and Harry and Carter lounged about in the hotel. They could sense no menace, and they were mentally at ease.
They had no suspicion that this very hotel was harboring a dangerous villain from the enemy’s camp. They did not know that Stacks Lodi had already called Hub Rowley at the Michigan road house, to give the big shot an inkling of their plans.
Hence, at two o’clock in the afternoon, when the two companions took to Harry’s coupe they had no knowledge that they were being watched by shrewd eyes that stared from an upstairs window of a hotel room. Stacks Lodi, an evil chuckle on his lips, saw the coupe start along the road that led southward into Wisconsin.
“Trying to fool any one that’s watching. eh?” thought Stacks. “Well, they’ve missed their guess this time!”
Fifteen minutes later, the ex-gambler who served as Hub Rowley’s underling was driving away in his own car, heading toward the border of Michigan.
Meanwhile, Harry and Carter continued their routine ruse, which they had adopted merely as a precaution. They changed their course, drove back into Michigan, and found a roundabout way that led them to the hilly dirt road.
It was late afternoon when they parked the coupe at its former spot. They went to the rocky eminence, and viewed the land below. Harry pointed out a course that missed the cabin by several hundred yards.
“That’s our layout,” he declared. “It’s getting gloomy now, Carter. What do you say we start?”
“Approved,” responded Carter.
Five minutes later, the two men were pushing their way through the darkening forest. Away from all clearings, they had nothing to fear. Both felt elated, sure that their progress would be uninterrupted.
A half hour of tramping brought them to the hillside. Harry’s first object was to locate the shack that had been marked on The Shadow’s chart. It was nearly dark when they found the place.
“Pretty well hidden, isn’t it?” questioned Harry, peering into the door of the empty building.
“Yes.” agreed Carter. “Too bad we didn’t have a day to look around up here. This would have been a better place to stay than the cabin.
“Yes,” admitted Harry, “it would have been — if we had been on our own. But with The Shadow watching — well, we have considerably less enemies to deal with now if we encounter them!”
From the shack, they found the cluster of trees. On the base of one, Harry, with the aid of a flashlight, found a round mark, evidently of recent cut. The trail led to the right. Blackened spots upon the rock conducted them farther.
“We’re getting there now.” remarked Harry.
Carter Boswick smiled. He felt that he was nearing the end of his quest. He knew that Harry Vincent shared his enthusiasm. Neither man thought of any danger that might lie ahead. Even less, did they consider a menace from behind.
They did not know that Stacks Lodi, too, had found The Shadow’s chart. Little did they realize that a crew of desperate foemen was approaching near at hand, and that soon their trails would meet!
CHAPTER XIX
MEN OF CRIME
DOWN in the woods beyond the mining-cabin clearing, a crew of evil ruffians was lurking in readiness. Grim faces were hidden in the gloom as Stacks Lodi, at Hub Rowley’s request, explained the situation that lay ahead.
“We don’t have to go across the clearing” declared Stacks, in a cautious tone. “We can slide around it, and I’ll pick up the trail on the other side. “There’s a shack up the hill, and when we get to it, I can find the trees we want.”
“I got that map straight, Hub. It was nice and plain — all fixed easy to remember. There’s a place that was marked ‘cave’ just beyond the trees. Maybe it would be tough to find; but I heard this boob Boswick say something about marks that would lead them to the entrance. If they can find them — so can we.”
As Stacks Lodi paused, Hub Rowley held a muffled conference with a man who stood beside him. Stacks had not seen Hub’s companion. It had been Lodi’s duty to bring a squad of new gangsters in one touring car. Hub had come with two other men in his coupe.