MAUDE FINDS A FRIEND
THE next two seconds provided The Shadow with one of the tightest pinches in his long career. By all the laws of ordinary chance, that interval should have produced his doom. This predicament, however, was the sort that urged The Shadow to extraordinary measures. In the emergency, he took a long-shot method.
The Shadow didn't halt to beat Pinkey in a gun duel. That would have been suicidal, with other revolvers coming up to aim. Nor did he wheel away to make himself a more difficult target. That would have worked with the more distant crooks, but not with Pinkey.
The Shadow took the one direction that offered sure surprise. He drove straight for the spot where Pinkey awaited him. By the very swiftness of his lunge, he accomplished the unexpected. He arrived by the time that Pinkey's gun
was leveled at him.
Not Pinkey; but the rising gun muzzle, was The Shadow's focal point. At the last instant, he gave a twist that preceded the blast of Pinkey's gun. The bullet scorched through The Shadow's cloak, so close to his body that Pinkey thought he had scored a hit.
Pinkey's triumphant shout made others believe the same. So did The Shadow's own course. He didn't slacken as he reached the steps.
Shoulder-first,
he took a plunge straight downward. To the enemy, that topple indicated that Pinkey's shot had reached The Shadow.
Even Pinky didn't realize that The Shadow's fall would be broken. It was Pinkey, himself, who became the buffer when the black-clad fighter hit his shoulder first. The two went rolling down the steps together; and with the finish of Pinkey's raucous shout came the sudden burst of The Shadow's mocking laugh.
A gun blow settled Pinkey for a while to come. That stroke was swung for the racketeer's skull; through sheer luck, Pinkey partly warded it, with upraised arm. He flattened, groggy at the bottom of the steps, and The Shadow promptly forgot him, to wage battle with others. They were coming across the floor - half a dozen mobbies planted here by 'Bugs' Hopton, Pinkey's strong-arm
crew leader. They expected victory through that rush; instead they put themselves in trouble. By deserting the tables, they came clear of innocent patrons. That give The Shadow full opportunity to fire.
Two automatics in his fists, the black-cloaked battler sent shots through the stairway rail. Crooks began to spill; their fire was belated when they tried to return flying lead.
Two of them reached the balcony, jumped up, and hauled themselves over its
high rail. Maude was in their path, trying to stop the conflict; they hurled the
girl aside and started for The Shadow.
He was up the steps to meet them.
Instead of wasting bullets that might be needed, he came like a living avalanche, before the pair could aim. The foremost thug took a hard stroke on the head; his companion made a desperate grapple with The Shadow.
Bold patrons who peeked from beneath tables saw a mass of blackness heave upward, hoisting a struggling thug above. The crook took a long, sprawly dive over the balcony rail; the jolt that the floor gave him left him senseless.
BY this time, new fighters had arrived.
Bugs Hopton and a trio of picked gorillas had dashed in through the side entrance. They aimed for The Shadow as they snatched up Pinkey, to haul the big-shot out of danger. Guns spoke anew, The Shadow's quick shots hurrying the crooks in their aim.
Amid that preliminary barrage, a new attack came from the side door. The Shadow's agents had closed in, to surprise Bugs and his crew with a rear attack.
Mobsters turned, hoping to reach the door. Into the melee came a batch of waiters, thinking that they could drive out the trouble-makers.
The Shadow waited, watching the struggle. He couldn't risk shots at the moment; he was depending upon his agents to handle themselves in their usual competent style. Probably they would have done so, if the waiters hadn't mixed in it. As it was, the fight became a free-for-all.
Bugs and two pals dragged Pinkey out through the side door, the brawling figures shielding them against The Shadow's aim. That get-away made the waiters
realize that the real trouble-makers were in flight.
They took up the chase, out through the alleyway, leaving The Shadow's agents in control, with one man of Bugs Hopton's crew lying limp and helpless.
The Shadow saw that further pursuit would be useless. Bugs had managed an escape, and had taken Pinkey with him. Probably they had a waiting car in readiness.
It was time for The Shadow to make his own departure, taking his agents with him; and the best route would be through a window of one of the little dining rooms. That was why The Shadow's sibilant tone gave quick command for his agents to join him on the balcony.
As they arrived, The Shadow observed a forgotten figure. Maude Revelle lay
dazed upon the floor. The Shadow told the agents to take her with them, and added brief instructions. They hurried through a little room, just as a squad of police arrived at the front entrance to The Hayrick.
The officers saw The Shadow fading into a doorway. They shouted for him to
halt, and followed the order with a rapid volley. Those shots were wide of their
mark. With their echoes came the trailing tone of The Shadow's parting laugh.
OUTSIDE The Hayrick, Pinkey and his carriers had vanished. Police whistles
were sounding everywhere. The Shadow's agents found themselves confronted with a
difficult task, for they had to make their own departure and carry Maude with them.
They were aided, though, by shots that took the police in the wrong direction. The Shadow had provided those shots, knowing that they would draw the officers away. By the time the police reached the spot where the shots had been fired, The Shadow was gone.
Two blocks away, a pair of The Shadow's agents crept through the darkness,
taking Maude with them. The girl had recovered her wits; she supposed that these
men were two of Pinkey's followers. They reached the street, to hear the sound of a police siren. Maude shrank back.
One of the men nudged the girl, pointing to a limousine parked near the curb. Maude nodded, then made dash for it. She reached the limousine and climbed hurriedly aboard. The chauffeur didn't notice her; he was looking across the street aboard toward a little cigar store.
A tall man strode from the store and entered the limousine. He spoke quietly through the speaking tube; the big car started forward. Then, lighting a cigarette, the owner of the limousine turned to look beside him. For the first time, apparently, he noticed Maude.
The girl became breathless. She felt she could trust this calm-faced stranger whose well-tailored evening clothes gave him the mark of a gentleman.
Maude gripped the man's arm.
'You've got to trust me,' she pleaded. 'Honest - I'm on the level! My name
is Maude Revelle. I was in The Hayrick, when a lot of shooting started.'
'I am quite pleased to know you, Miss Revelle,' returned the owner of the limousine. 'Let me introduce myself. My name is Lamont Cranston. You are quite welcome to share my limousine' - he broke off, suddenly, to utter through the speaking tube, 'Come, Stanley!... What is the delay?'
The big car had jolted to a stop. Stanley didn't have to explain why. A heavy-jowled patrolman was opening the door, to poke a flashlight inside.
'What is the trouble, officer?'
Cranston's quiet query brought the flashlight in his own direction. The cop mumbled that there had been a riot; that they were looking for a girl who had helped start it. He turned the flashlight toward Maude; eyed her suspiciously as she shrank away.
