A break! If it would only come!
Anything — a stumble on the part of one of the three approaching men — an argument among the covering mobsters — anything that would grant the opportunity for a dive into the corridor where Harry and Carter had found Drew Westling!
Harry’s fists tightened.
Shots of death! Let them come! He would make the break himself and take the consequences. He felt no qualms at sacrificing his companions. They were surely doomed — the sooner the end came, the better.
Harry spoke; but his lips did not move in the effort. The undertone was heard only by Carter Boswick and Drew Westling, for Farland Tracy and Hub Rowley were still twenty feet away.
“When I say, Go!” — these were Harry’s words — “jump for the corridor. It’s our only chance. Ready—”
Before Harry could pronounce the next word, a terrific roar came through the sloping shaft. Some one had opened fire from the section beyond the spot where the side entrance converged within the mine. The heavy booming of automatics sounded like a cannonade.
One of the covering gangsters staggered. The others, with one, accord, dropped to the ground, and turned in the direction of the fire. Farland Tracy and Hub Rowley turned in alarm.
Amid the thundering echoes came Harry’s hoarse command:
“Go!”
The break had come — and the word was timed with it! With Carter Boswick and Drew Westling, Harry scrambled for the side corridor. Only one man sought to stop them.
Headley, alone, had not yielded to the momentary surprise that had gripped the others of the invading crew. He saw the doomed men escaping. He fired quick shots in their direction. Fortunately, his aim was hasty.
A bullet skimmed Drew Westling’s shoulder. Drew staggered head-foremost into the side corridor. Harry and Carter caught him as he fell and dragged him with them. A few moments later they were in the pit.
Suddenly a terrific tumult sounded through the mine shaft. Mobsters were firing up the slope toward their hidden foe. The roar of automatics was responding.
Harry Vincent knew the answer, as he grimly drew forth his automatic. The Shadow, alone, had brought this timely rescue. The master of darkness had opened fire upon the mob, to save the three whose doom had seemed so certain.
Bullets of death! The Shadow had loosed them. But The Shadow, like Harry Vincent and his comrades, was trapped by a merciless mob!
CHAPTER XXIII
THE LAST FIGHT
VOLLEYS thundered through the sloping shaft of the forgotten mine. Gangsters, prone upon the rusted track, were blazing furiously at an unseen target. Bullets ricocheted from jagged walls. Answering shots responded from above.
Flashlights, glimmering intermittently so that they would not reveal the men who held them, were the advantage which the mobsmen possessed. Those flashes of light showed a wavering form in black, retreating up the shaft.
The Shadow was retiring in the face of formidable odds. The cover of darkness was his no longer. The walls of the shaft afforded no spot from which he could thrust a pistoled hand while his form remained in safety.
Those shots with which The Shadow had begun the fray had been distant ones. For The Shadow had realized the danger of close approach. Even now he was in the utmost danger; for although the range was long, the gunmen had a veritable shooting gallery along which to aim.
Bullets that ricocheted could prove as deadly as those which were discharged with perfect aim. Had The Shadow not taken all factors into consideration, he would have fallen with the first volley sent in his direction.
Retreat was the only game; and in that retreat, The Shadow gave high encouragement to the men who opposed him. Stacks Lodi had shouted out the identity of the antagonist.
The Shadow was on the run!
Evil mobsters spat oaths as they fired. All the venom of the underworld was loosed tonight. The Shadow trapped! Death to The Shadow! He would never escape this trap alive!
Two of the mobsmen had fallen. Two others had received wounds, but were still in action.
As Stacks Lodi urged his men forward, they passed the spot where the secret entrance joined the shaft and there they were reinforced by the two gunmen who had been left to guard the outer opening.
The Shadow’s retreat had increased in speed. His form was hidden by the increasing slope of the shaft. Stacks Lodi shouted for prompt pursuit.
Why not? The range was long. The advantage was equal for every shooter. The horde outnumbered The Shadow more than eight to one. If they could catch a glimpse of that retreating form within the glare of their flickering lights, death would stalk The Shadow
Into Stacks Lodi’s cunning brain came the realization that the opening of this shaft must be blocked. There, The Shadow would be at bay. When he was backed against the final wall, lights would no longer glimmer. A barrage sweeping through the darkness would surely spell The Shadows doom!
Below, Farland Tracy and Hub Rowley were keeping the three trapped men from escaping. Headley was with them. Stacks could hear the echoing sound of shots. He surmised what was going on.
Peering from the edge of the wall, into the short corridor that led to the right, the lawyer and the big shot were sniping at Harry Vincent and Carter Boswick. Harry and Carter were wisely withholding their fire as they lay within the shelter of the pit. Every shot counted how. They waited for the enemy to appear in the corridor itself.
Stacks Lodi still urged his men up the shaft. The slope was one which increased as they proceeded. This accounted for The Shadow’s disappearance. The ceiling formed a curve that covered his retreat.
Suddenly, as a flashlight illuminated the rising cavern, a gangster emitted a cry of exultation.
“There he is! There he is!”
As the light went out, Stacks Lodi caught sight of a stooping figure up ahead.
The Shadow!
Stacks had seen the flowing cloak and the lowered head, buried beneath the slouch hat.
BEFORE the gangsters could fire, four quick shots came down the shaft. Bullets glanced from the ground, and one gangster coughed out his life amid the darkness.
What was one man now? Stacks aimed and fired into the blackness. The range was closer than before. They had neared the end of the shaft.
The mobsters followed the example. The darkness showed repeated spurts of flame; the air reeked with powder fumes.
“Hold it! Hold it!”
Stacks Lodi’s command was heard. Echoes of the final shots rolled dimly down the shaft. Silence followed. A hiss of exultation came from Stacks Lodi’s evil lips.
The Shadow was no longer returning the fire. Perhaps he lay wounded or dead!
On the contrary, he might be resting for the final moment, seeking to trap his enemies by some ruse. If so, it would be futile. One more revelation of that black-garbed form, and The Shadow’s end would be at hand!
“Ready!” growled Stacks. “Get set, and we’ll give him all the light he wants. Keep it on this time. Bust loose when I shoot the big light.”
As Stacks pressed the switch of a bull’s-eye lantern, a strange sound manifested itself from above. A low rumble occurred in the darkness. The light came on. A snarl burst from Stacks an instant before the gangsters opened fire.
From a hundred feet up the shaft, a mining car was slowly starting down the slope. Its sides of metal, its interior brimming with a huge load of glistening rock, this carrier was the first car of an entire train!
Gangster bullets spattered against the steel front of the car. They did no harm. The Shadow was behind — beyond — in safety.
Stacks Lodi cried out in terror. He understood now why The Shadow had been stooping when they last had seen him. The lone fighter had released a mighty Juggernaut upon his enemies!