Shadow of Doom Read Free Page A

Attendants ran after him. There was the sound of a collision and a crash of crockery and metal. After a pause that lasted only for a few seconds, but seemed an age, the Superintendent gave a long-suffering sigh, and said:
    â€˜That was my breakfast.’
    â€˜Sacrifice in a good cause,’ said Palfrey, for when they went into the passage the little man was on the floor, looking dazed, and a massive steward was glaring down at him with a murderous glint in his eye. On the floor were pieces of cups and saucers, bacon, scrambled egg, toast and the usual etceteras of a substantial breakfast, including coffee, which spread sluggishly from wall to wall and smelt most fragrant.
    â€˜He won’t get away again,’ said the Superintendent, and gave the necessary orders. It appeared that a corner of the tray had caught the little man in the eye, and temporarily blinded him. He was gasping and moaning piteously, but received no sympathy. The Superintendent watched him taken away, then looked at Palfrey. ‘Breakfast for two?’
    â€˜That’s handsome of you,’ said Palfrey. ‘Yes, please.’
    â€˜In the meantime you can tell me what it is all about,’ said the Superintendent. ‘And, as we’ll have to wait a quarter of an hour, we may as well go and see what happened to your car – if anything.’
    â€˜Happy thought,’ said Palfrey. ‘As for what it’s all about, I don’t know. Except that they appeared to have evil designs on my car. I’m fond of that car. Also, I have been attacked before. Some would say an H.I. Department, and some would say nothing at all.’ He beamed.
    As they stepped into the frosty October air the Superintendent’s eyes stopped being cold. They glowed, and he said, ‘ That Palfrey!’ – as if it explained everything. The change relieved Palfrey, but the sight of the little canister in his car did not. It was small and round, like a cycle oil can, and everybody handled it with great care. Neither he nor the Superintendent guessed what it contained, but they were sure that it was in some way lethal.
    â€˜So someone is after you in England,’ said the Superintendent, over breakfast of crisp, hot bacon and two eggs apiece, together with other things which did not normally appear on the breakfast menu at the restaurant. ‘I must say I envy you, Palfrey.’
    â€˜Envy!’ Palfrey was shocked. ‘I nearly made a nasty blotch on the Great West Road; that’s no fit subject for envy.’ He talked fairly freely of the past, and the Superintendent rightly felt that he was privileged. Presently the police arrived, and the little man, who had given the name of Clarkson, was taken away, protesting again, and with a remarkably colourful eye to bear him out when he complained that he had been assaulted. The police also took charge of the mysterious canister, with a promise to treat it with the utmost respect and to await instructions for its disposal.
    In the course of the next few hours, items of news trickled in. First, Clarkson would not talk, and denied everything. Second, the canister contained a German explosive which would go off if subjected to much vibration, as near a car engine. Third, Clarkson’s fingerprints were found on the canister, but Clarkson still denied everything. Finally, in the early afternoon, when Palfrey was at Wimpole Street, Brett telephoned and told him that although van Doorn had arrived safely at Rotterdam airport he had not reached his home nor the University.
    The Dutchman was still missing twenty-four hours later.
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Chapter Three
The Marquis Obtains Recruits
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    Dias had small feet, and his trousers were cut so perfectly that the line from his waist to his ankle was absolutely straight, although it tapered off. It gave him a top-heavy appearance, for he had powerful shoulders and a big head. Bright eyes, dark brown in colour, lit up at the sight of