Roy Darwin and Clayton Peale came suddenly to their senses as the situation turned. Lester threw Harry across the floor. He raised his hand to riddle Harry with bullets. Darwin leaped forward, but did so hopelessly. At the same instant, Professor Sheldon, suddenly regaining his feet, scrambled toward the doorway to clutch the lever. Peale was after him — also too far away to prevent the deed.
AS all seemed lost, a shot came from the stone steps. The Shadow had arrived. His figure, obscure in the gloom of the corridor, was a sign of vengeance. But in that shot, The Shadow had been forced to make an important choice. It was either Lester, about to kill Harry Vincent — or Professor Kirby Sheldon, his hand upon the lever of death!
The Shadow’s choice was Lester. The man collapsed, a bullet in his heart, before he could put an end to Harry Vincent. A triumphant cry from Kirby Sheldon’s lips as the old man pulled the lever unmolested.
With a weird hiss, sluiceways opened in the side of the grotto, and jets of water gushed through, sweeping over the floor where Sheldon’s victims were now standing. His last effort one of intended destruction, Professor Sheldon tried to close the automatic door behind him as he leaped toward the stone steps.
It was then that he encountered The Shadow. With a mad surge, the professor tried to block the man in black. The Shadow, coming forward, gripped the old man’s body and slung it with the force of a stone from a catapult. With sprawling arms, the old fiend shot headfirst between the closing door and the wall of the corridor. His body, jammed there, blocked the locking of the automatic barrier!
Harry Vincent leaped forward. He pulled open the door. The professor’s body fell inert across the sill. Harry could see The Shadow — he could see the beckoning of the black-gloved hand — he knew that the way was clear.
With a cry to his companions, Harry Vincent led the way. Men and women followed, wading and splashing through the water that had reached their knees. The drifting body of Professor Sheldon floated from their path, and none tried to stop it. Whether the old man was dead or merely stunned, he belonged here in this grotto of doom.
On the steps, Harry aided Darwin and Peale in getting the women to safety. Above the level of the submerging grotto, Harry picked the proper corridor — for far ahead he could see the gleaming light of two eyes that shone from the head of a black, phantom shape.
The escaping party reached the dock in the outer cavern. Harry Vincent was ahead of them. He had arrived in time to hear a whispered voice from the cabin in front of the cockpit, giving him instructions.
The women gasped as they saw the bodies of dead gangsters strewn on the dock and floating in the water. Among them was Beef Norbin, the gang leader. The Shadow had won a quick and certain fight.
THE motors of the mystery boat were throbbing as the party clambered aboard. Peale took charge of the engines at Harry’s order. Slowly the boat followed the channel. It reached total darkness, but there, Harry steered directly ahead as The Shadow had instructed, warning all to lie low.
The rush of cold air told of the low arch. Then the ship moved clear — out into the night air of the bay. Its sides scraped rocks in the little cove; then they were clear, and the motors were purring smoothly as Harry steered to a distant light far across the bay.
People were talking in low, buzzing voices. They did not know who had engineered this rescue. They had not seen The Shadow. In the minds of his companions, Harry Vincent deserved the greatest credit. They thought that he had taken advantage of a suicidal affray among Professor Sheldon’s underlings.
But Harry knew the truth. He knew that The Shadow had been aboard the yacht owned by Anthony Hargreaves. Harry — nor any other living man — did not know that the Shadow had boarded the mystery ship from the water after freeing himself from the machine gun. That had escaped the knowledge of Professor Sheldon and his men — all of whom were now dead.
The last exchange of shots between Sheldon and the yacht had enabled The Shadow to slip into the cabin of the mystery ship. There he had waited until the boat had docked. After that, he had watched from the wall of the subterranean channel.
Harry could guess how The Shadow had engineered the fray. The cockpit of the boat — the half-opened cabin door — both showed sacks of heavy metal and wooden boxes. The gold from the Patagonia! The professor’s papers!
The Shadow had fallen upon the minions of Professor Sheldon the moment that the loading had been completed. The fight had all been in his favor. Only a few had managed to reach the corridor. The Shadow had pursued them, killing Shoyer, and then Lester, last of all, before he had hurled Professor Sheldon to his deserved doom.
Harry’s thoughts were all of what he must tell later on. He realized that he need not mention the name of The Shadow. With Woodruff, he could tell what had occurred at East Point. The others could give the facts regarding their capture.
The boat was approaching a lighted pier. A searchlight suddenly illuminated it. A coast-guard cutter, looking for rum runners, had seen the boat. Cries came from the cutter, as its crew realized that this must be the mystery ship which had baffled all discovery!
The light revealed the presence of women. The coast guards knew that this could not be the pirate crew. Harry was docking the ship now — people were scrambling ashore — all were giving explanations.
Coast guards saw the sacks. They knew that the stolen gold had been recovered. They were listening to blurted stories, before they prepared to examine the contents of the ship. But as the government men clambered into the cabin, Harry gazed askance.
Would they find The Shadow?
No!
The answer came to Harry Vincent as he gazed instinctively toward the bow of the mystery ship. There, in the darkness, Harry’s keen eye caught a momentary glimpse of a form in black. Then the shape was gone.
The Shadow had been riding the prow of the boat. Lying low, he had escaped detection. He had slipped ashore, under the cover of darkness. Listening, Harry Vincent fancied that he heard the grim echoes of a strange, mocking laugh, fading in the distance of the night.
Professor Sheldon’s victims had been saved. The gold from the Patagonia had been recovered. The master fiend and his villainous underlings had gone to their doom. The golden grotto was submerged.
All had been accomplished by the hand of The Shadow.
The Shadow never fails!