In the Grip of the Griffin: The Complete Battles of Gordon Manning & The Griffin, Volume 3 (35 page)
Authors: J. Allan Dunn
Tags: #Detective/Hard-Boiled
Well away, Manning took off robe and mask and skullcap. They were more trophies. The mask he meant to retain for himself, to place it among his other relics of grim adventure.
He struck a highway and drove north, rapidly and expertly. Within half an hour he passed the sign: baltimore—15 miles.
The voice of the commissioner came through clearly over long-distance.
“There will be no trouble with the Maryland authorities, Manning. They are sending men to meet you and will cooperate with us. I am flying down. They ought to elect you president for this.”
Manning laughed. “I might get a medal—thirty years or so from now. I’ll be waiting for you, commissioner. I’ve got a nice souvenir for you. But—how about Farnum?”
His face lit up as he listened. “That is the best news I’ve heard in a long while,” he said as he hung up.
Farnum had won with his thousandth chance. The surgeons credited him with an escape that was literally made by a hair’s-breadth. That much to the left, and the steel dart would have torn the vein beyond repair.
As Manning turned away from the booth a bellboy looked at him, bright-eyed and inquisitive as a sparrow.
“Gee, Major Manning,” he said, “ain’t there somethin’ I can do for you?”
Of course there were leaks somewhere. Operators are human. But it did not matter. The Griffin was dead.
“Sure you can, son,” said Manning. “Lead me to the bar. I need a drink.”
Table of Contents
In the Grip of the Griffin: The Complete Battles of Gordon Manning & the Griffin, Volume 3