While Harry was musing thus, a figure stepped from the trees in front of the farmhouse, not more than five yards from the very spot from which Harry emerged.
Ironically, the situation was almost the exact duplicate of what had transpired on the hill. Just as Harry had been unseen by the man coming from the mansion, so was the presence of this stranger entirely unknown to Harry Vincent.
It was starlight overhead. Harry’s form was visible to the man who was following him. When Harry came to the junction of the road, he took the path straight ahead, instead of turning up the road that wound around the hill.
The man in back lessened his pace, and allowed a considerable distance between himself and Harry.
There was a good reason for this. There were no by-paths from the road ahead for more than a mile. The man in back evidently felt that he could allow his quarry a long start. Hence he did not see Harry turn into the field where he had parked his car.
This was a lucky advantage for the unsuspecting agent of The Shadow. Harry worked silently with his wireless, taking considerable time. His pursuer walked completely by him while he was thus engaged.
Five minutes later, Harry Vincent sent a brief report of what he had observed. The report was in a special code, which he knew by heart. Then, with his work over, Harry hurriedly packed the equipment, backed his car out of the field, and turned back toward the farmhouse.
Sound carries far on a still night in the country. The stranger who had followed Harry Vincent was at that moment standing at the crossroad, half a mile down the straight course. He had wondered what had become of the man whom he had followed.
The noise of the distant car, and its lights, gave him the information he required.
For the next hour, a man with a small flashlight made observations along the deserted road, studying the tracks of the coupe, and noting the footprints that Harry Vincent had made in the dust.