He knew who this rescuer was. He knew, now, the person who was there to prevent the slaughter. The police were surging forward, but Yates could only stare upward in dumbfounded admiration.
The man in the tower was The Shadow!
CHAPTER XXII
THE SHADOW DEPARTS
THE police had reached the end of the pier. They were battering at the door of the closed building. Chief Yates, recovered from his stupor, was shouting commands. His word was being passed back as he ran ahead.
Now, events happened in amazing sequence. The roar of a powerful motor sounded beneath the bottom of the pier. As Chief Yates reached the rail, a mighty monster seemed to lurch forward from beneath.
With gleaming, brilliant searchlight, a long, swift speedboat shot out into the ocean. Yates — like his companions — raised his gun too late. They fired into the waves as the boat whirled away.
Seated in the rear, surrounded by three other men, was Wheels Bryant. He was at the wheel. Chief Yates uttered a cry of rage as he recognized the face of the man who had been known as Rufus Cruikshank.
Then came a shout of exultation. Speeding inward to intercept the course of the escaping craft were two swift yachts, their lighted decks revealing men with revolvers. They were the first of a scattered line of ships coming from the harbor.
The escaping speedboat swerved. It wanted to avoid these craft; to elude them; to slip away between them. Its motor roared as it turned broadside to the pier. The maneuver was a faulty one. The fast boat was forced to head along the beach; then turn again.