EYES OF THE SHADOW
by Maxwell Grant
As originally published in "The Shadow Magazine," July/August 1931.
Six prominent men were expecting a share in a glittering fortune. But, one
by one, they were being brutally murdered. Until The Shadow discovered the plan
- a plan so fiendish that only the twisted mind of a monster could have
conceived it...
CHAPTER I
A VISITOR AT NIGHT
THE room seemed strangely silent when Bruce Duncan awoke. It was uncanny
in this front room of the old house; he had noticed that before during the
month he had lived there since his uncle's death. But the silence had never
seemed so ominous as now.
One comfort to his disturbed mind was the beam of light that came through
the transom of the door to the right of the bed. It fell upon the hearth of the
old stone fireplace at the right wall of the room. Duncan turned his eyes
momentarily in that direction; an instant later, he was staring at the window
again.
For he had heard a strangely sibilant whistle - close and ominous - as
though it came from among the bushes on the ground a full story below the
window.
There was a rustle outside as if a slight breath of wind had stirred the
thick ivy vines that covered the stone masonry of the house. Then a head and
shoulders were silhouetted in the dimness of the open window. A grotesque form
slipped over the sill.
The figure stole softly toward the bed. Duncan did not move. Somehow he
seemed powerless to move. He turned his eyes to follow the actions of the
strange visitor from the night, and his gaze was transfixed as the being came
into the light from the transom.
The figure was that of an apelike man - a weird, stoop-shouldered creature
whose arms were long and whose fingers were bony claws. The face was wizened,
and the eyes gleamed wickedly in the light.
The creature's head turned toward the bed. Instinctively, Bruce Duncan
closed his eyes and lay as if asleep. He had no will to move a muscle; he could
only wait and wonder in the midst of this real nightmare.
The side of the bed sagged slightly as though a form was pressing against
it. The creature was stooping over him now. Duncan could feel a warm breath
against his forehead. His heart thumped furiously in this moment of weird
suspense, and he lay motionless as a waxwork figure, waiting for the clawlike
fingers to close about his neck.
But the thing from the night made no closer approach. It was like a game
of strategy. Duncan felt that if he made the slightest motion, death would
follow. Only by feigning sleep could he escape.
WHAT was to be the next move? Duncan could only wait. Wait and watch.
The creature had moved onto the hearth of the fireplace. A bony hand
appeared in the light. The claws crawled up the right side of the fireplace
until they reached the top. The hand pressed upward on the metal border.
There was a sharp click. The creature turned quickly toward the bed, but
Duncan's eyes closed instantly. Again he lay motionless for fully fifteen
seconds. Then he reopened his eyes and stared in fascination.
The gruesome creature was stooping now - stooping beside an opening in the
hearth against the side of the fireplace. Its bony hands dipped into the cavity
in the floor. They emerged carrying a small package and two envelopes.
The apish visitor again pressed the side of the fireplace, and Duncan saw
the stone in the hearth close, completely concealing the hole. As his eyes
remained on the spot, he suddenly realized that the creature was gone.
He glanced toward the window. A blotch appeared and immediately vanished
downward. From outside came that same hissing whistle. The ivy vines rustled.
Then all was silent; the quiet of the night returned.
Only half awake, Duncan climbed out of bed, and switched on the light.
A dream, likely, thought Duncan. Well, there was only one way to test it.
He walked to the fireplace.
He placed his hand against the metal rim and tried to move it. It seemed
solid enough. He yanked at it and attempted to push it up and down. Suddenly it
yielded as his hand was going upward. There was a sharp click from the floor - a
click that he recalled.
He looked at the hearth. One of the stones had swung upward on a hinge,
impelled by a concealed spring. There in the masonry was a neatly formed
opening, beneath it a small cavity that gaped with emptiness.
CHAPTER II
WORD FROM THE DEAD
THERE was a knock at the door the next morning. Duncan opened the door and
admitted Abdul, his Hindu servant. The man was carrying a breakfast tray.
"It was time for you to awake, sahib. I have brought breakfast."
"Abdul," asked Duncan, as he began his meal, "did you hear any one outside
last night?"
"No, sahib. At what time of the night?"
"I don't know. Didn't you hear a whistle?"
"No, sahib. What did sahib eat last night?"
"Nothing that would have kept me awake," answered Duncan. "I had an early
dinner in the city, and I read for a while in the evening, after I came home. I
did eat one of those peppermints in the dish over there on the table not long
before I went to bed."
The Hindu went to the table. He took a peppermint from the dish and tasted
it.
"At what time did sahib go to bed?" he asked. "You will recall, sahib,
that I was not here."
"That's right," replied Duncan. "You went out for the evening, after I
came in, didn't you? I guess it was about midnight when I retired."
"Sahib had dreams last night?"
Duncan hesitated a moment before replying.
"Unusual dreams," he said. "They were very vivid, as though they were
real. They seemed like something was going to happen - as if I were waiting."
"And time went very slowly?" questioned Abdul.
"Yes," admitted Duncan. "Why do you ask that, Abdul?"
"The peppermint," said the Hindu, "tastes to me different. It is like
something that we have in India - something from a bush that grows in the wild."
"What is it?" questioned Duncan.
"It makes men sleep. It makes them dream. To them the minutes seem like
the hours. To them the hours seem like the days. The things they see are
strange."
A SUDDEN thought came to Duncan. "You mean hashish," he said.
"That is it, sahib," replied the Hindu.
"You think the peppermints contain hashish?"
"It seems to me like that, sahib."
"Then I was drugged last night. Who did it? Why? Where did you get these
peppermints, Abdul? Who brought them?"
"I shall answer you, sahib," replied the Hindu. "I shall tell you all. I
was in the house all day. I came in this room often, as you have told me to do.
At the door of the house I found the package that you had told the man to send.
In it was the peppermints. So I brought them here."
"Yes," said Duncan, "I've been having them send mints up every day or two.
I've been chewing them at nights - makes the cigarettes taste better with a few
mints in between. But how did these mints come to be in the package?"
Abdul shrugged his shoulders.
Duncan was thoughtful when the Hindu left the room. He trusted his Hindu
servant - Abdul had been with him for five years - yet it was strange that the
man should have so promptly diagnosed the cause of Duncan's peculiar sleep the
night before. But why had Abdul mentioned the fact if he had had anything to do
with it?
The Hindu returned with the morning mail. It contained a letter from
Duncan's lawyer. The young man read the message:
Please call at my office at your earliest convenience. This is very
important, and I will expect to see you shortly.
ROBERT CHALMERS TREMAINE.
Two hours later, Duncan was seated in the lawyer's office, facing Tremaine
across a large mahogany desk.
"Good morning, Mr. Duncan," said the lawyer in a voice that suited his
pompous appearance. "I have interesting news for you."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"Your uncle, Mr. Duncan, was an interesting man. You, as his heir,
received rather unusual instructions, which I understand you have followed, in
order to comply with the terms of his legacy."
"Correct, Mr. Tremaine," said Duncan. "I have lived in Uncle Harvey's
house since the day he died. I have slept in the front room which he occupied,
as his will instructed. During the day, my servant has been there continually -
except when I have been at home."
The lawyer smiled.
"Those instructions," he said, "were left with a purpose. What the purpose
was, I do not know. I was your uncle's attorney, but he did not take me into his
confidence on that matter. Some time before his death, however, your uncle told
me that he intended to impart some information to you before he died. He was
unable to do this as he passed away the day you reached the city. He was
calling for you when he died."
"So I have been told," said Duncan soberly.
"Your uncle anticipated that something might prevent him giving you his
message - which proved to be the case - so he left a sealed envelope with me.
It was to be delivered to you on this date."
Bruce Duncan studied the long, heavy envelope that Tremaine handed him.
The lawyer thereupon ushered him into a smaller room, to a table in the
midst of book-lined walls.
"You will not be disturbed here."
Alone, the young man tore open the envelope which was of cloth texture
inside. He withdrew several folded sheets of paper. The inner page carried a
message in clearly legible longhand. Bruce recognized it as his uncle's writing.
As he scanned the firmly written lines, astonishment came over him. He
began to understand not only why his uncle had left such unusual instructions
regarding the occupancy of the house, but, also, he gained an inkling of the
significance of last night's experience.
CHAPTER III
A STRANGE HERITAGE
THE terse, blunt statements of the letter told a strange story so plainly
that they seemed like spoken words. Bruce Duncan, as he read them, could
imagine the very tones of his uncle's voice:
I am speaking to you, Bruce. I am writing in the front room of my house.
The shades are drawn. It is late at night. You and I are alone. These are the
exact words that I hope to say to you before I die, in the place that I have
named. This message is written to be read if that hope is not realized.
I am a comparatively old man, Bruce. You are young and you are my only
living relative. You are my dead brother's son and, like him, you have the firm
traits of our family.
I am a man with a mission, Bruce, as I write these words. When you read
this message, my mission will be yours; for I shall be dead.
For years I have lived in the front room of my home. I have been there
always at nights, as you will be. For that room contains a secret which must be
guarded.
I have been many places in my life. I have had many adventures. I was in
Russia during the Revolution. In Moscow I saved the life of a great man - a
member of the nobility - a general in the army of the czar.
I brought him to safety. I risked my life for him. I left him in Paris,
and then I saw him some time later. He was going back to Russia. He intended to
join the forces of Admiral Kolchak in their fight against the Red rule.
He had another purpose, also. He intended to reclaim a vast wealth. Money,
in golden rubles; and precious gems. An amazing fortune. He had left it hidden
in Russia, and he was confident that no one could have discovered the hiding
place.
He told me that in his trials he had gained the help and friendship of
seven men. To each of them he owed an obligation. He regarded me as the most
important of the seven.
He stated that he intended to divide his wealth into three parts - each a
fortune. One was for the surviving members of his family. Another was for the
cause of the czarists. The third was to be divided into eight portions - one
each for six of the men who had befriended him; two for myself.
To me he intrusted the division of this fortune. He gave me a sealed box
containing the insignia of a high royal order, which he or his messenger would
recognize. He gave me a sealed envelope containing the names of the other six
men with their descriptions.
Some day, he declared, I would receive a message simply stating a time and
place for a meeting. There I would find him or his messenger. The other six
would be present, each notified independently. At that time, I should open the
box and reveal the insignia. The fortune would then be given to me without
question.
My next duty would be to open the envelope, learn the names of the other
six friends, and identify them. To each I should give his share. Should any be
absent, it would depend upon me to find them and to give their shares to them
or to their heirs, if they had died.
I regarded this as a sacred trust. Upon my return to America, I
constructed a hiding place and kept the package and the envelope there. My
health had failed, and I lived indoors, always remaining in that room. For as
years passed, the matter became to me the most important subject of my life.
My Russian friend was killed in the rout of the Kolchak forces. Still I
maintained the trust, confident that he had placed his affairs in the hands of
some relative or trusted friend.
I have earned my reward. One week ago, I received a letter that stated the
time and place of the meeting. I added the letter to the package and the
envelope which contained the names of the other six men.
When you read this, I will be dead. Dead, before the meeting time. I rely
upon you to fulfill the mission and to receive the wealth that would have been
my reward.
The secret hiding place is in my room. You must live there and guard the
spot until the appointed time. Do not regard this as an old man's whim. It is
important. No one knows my secret, yet sometimes the most secret things are
discovered.
Use the utmost secrecy, Bruce. Be sure that you are alone, in my room. Go
to the fireplace. Press upon the metal border at the top of the right side. The
hiding place will open. It is concealed by a stone in the hearth.
Read the letter. Learn the time and place of the meeting. Carry the
package and the sealed envelope and go there - alone. You know your duty from
then on. Destroy this letter after you have read it.
The signature of Harvey Duncan was at the bottom of the page.
THE young man stared at the words before him. He read the letter again.
Each fact seemed to burn itself into his brain. He tore the papers into
fragments. He wondered what to do with them, then realized it did not matter.
For the secret was no longer his alone. His uncle's fears had been
realized. Some one had discovered the hiding place. Bruce was positive now that
he had been drugged the right before. Perhaps the hashish - if that had been the
drug - had made the strange visitor seem grotesque. But he was certain that some
living being had entered his room and had taken the documents and the package.
His only hope was that the thief had not fully understood the significance
of the objects he had taken. This seemed a faint hope. Where, then, had the
information been gained? Bruce was sure that no one could have read the letter
which he had just perused. Tremaine, the lawyer, was unquestionably reliable.
Abdul could not have known of the secret. Perhaps the knowledge had been gained
from Russia. No; that would not have carried a clue to the hiding place in the
hearth.
Bruce Duncan went into Tremaine's office. He was tempted to tell the
lawyer what he had learned, for he felt that he needed advice. The secret had
been discovered; this fact might alter the instructions in the letter, which
demanded absolute secrecy. On second thought Duncan decided to say nothing.
"You have read your uncle's message?" asked Tremaine.
"I have."
The lawyer smiled.
"It was to be read by me," he said, "in case that you failed to abide by
the terms of your uncle's will. I am glad that you have seen fit to conform to
his desires. Your uncle was my friend."
He walked to the door with Bruce.
"Did any one talk with my uncle before he died?" asked the young man.
"No," said the lawyer. "He talked very little the last few days while you
were on your way from Japan. I should have notified you sooner. He was
delirious several times."
"Who came to see him?"
"I don't just recall any one person. Hopkins could tell you. He was your
uncle's attendant. He had lived there for several years, you know. A faithful
servant and a willing worker."
Duncan recalled the old gray-haired retainer who had lived with his uncle.
He had a card in his pocket now, with the man's address on it. Hopkins had gone
to live with his sister after the death of Harvey Duncan.
A telephone booth was Bruce Duncan's first stopping place after leaving
Tremaine's office. He found the card with Hopkins's number and decided to call
the old man.
A woman's voice answered.
"Mr. Hopkins?" questioned Duncan.
"Who is calling?" was the reply.
"Bruce Duncan. Nephew of Mr. Harvey Duncan."
"Oh, Mr. Duncan," came the voice. "He asked for you. Mr. Hopkins died two
weeks ago. I thought you had been notified. It was so sudden - a heart attack
in the night -"
Duncan speculated on this strange coincidence as he drove homeward. A
theory had formed in his mind. Some one had visited his uncle, and had been
left alone with him by Hopkins. In delirium, Harvey Duncan had given the secret
which he had intended to retain for his nephew.
Poor Hopkins! Bruce had almost suspected him when he had made the phone
call.
Suddenly, a horrible suspicion filled the young man's mind. Perhaps his
uncle had been murdered. Perhaps the death of Hopkins had been planned!
Some fiend was at work; that was certain. Why then had his own life been
spared by the creature of the night? The answer came to him. The malefactor
behind all this had not known of the envelope in Tremaine's office. The
criminal believed that no one knew Harvey Duncan's secret. He, Bruce Duncan,
had been drugged so that the paper could be stolen at night. Had he moved while
the enemy was in the room, his life would have been taken.
He began to detect the mystery of the peppermints. Each night, Bruce had
sat by the window reading, with the peppermints close at hand, as he smoked his
cigarettes. He had rarely drawn the shades. Some one had observed him; a clever
person had opened the package from the drug store as it lay on the steps. The
doped peppermints had been substituted.
Some criminal mind was at work. It possessed the knowledge that belonged
to Bruce Duncan as the heir of his uncle.
Duncan realized the difficulty of his position. He had no clue except the
gaping space beneath the hearth. He did not even know the time or place of the
meeting. He did not know the names of the six men who could help him. He was
sworn to secrecy by his uncle's message, and no provision had been made for
this dilemma.
CHAPTER IV
VINCENT REMEMBERS A FACE
THREE weeks had passed since Bruce Duncan's visit to his uncle's lawyer.
Adventures had apparently ended, so far as Duncan was concerned. Unless new
factors developed, episodes of the past would pass into oblivion.
New factors, however, were already entering the game. Oddly, strange
incidents were beginning many miles from New York - incidents that chance,
alone, was guiding. Budding events had begun aboard a train on the Pennsylvania
Railroad, during its day trip east from Pittsburgh.
The Eastern Limited was swinging along the curving roadbed as it followed
its course on the mountainside above the river. The scene from the window of
the sleeping car was one of rugged grandeur, but it held no interest for a
passenger named Harry Vincent.
He was the only person seated in the car; the other passengers - of whom
there were very few - had gone either to the diner or to the observation car.
For three hours during that afternoon, Harry had been watching a closed
door. It was the door of the drawing room at the end of the car, and his
interest in what might be behind that door had kept him in his seat.
At three o'clock, Harry had first discovered that there was a passenger in
the drawing-room. The conductor had gone to the door of the compartment and had
knocked upon it. The door had been opened slightly; the conductor had not
entered. He had merely checked a ticket through the partly opened door and had
gone on his way.
Harry had observed a dim face in the drawing-room. Then the door had
closed. From then on, he had been puzzling over the matter.
The train was not so fast as some of the other limiteds that ran from
Chicago to New York. Why should a single passenger - and Harry held a hunch
that there was but one person in the drawing-room - have chosen a compartment
all alone, on a car nearly empty?
With nothing to do but while away the time during the long day trip, Harry
had pondered on this matter. To him it spelled mystery. There was only one
solution. The person in the drawing-room must have chosen this train and taken
the available compartment because it would mean seclusion from observation.
Twice, between three and six o'clock, the door had opened slightly as
though some one within were studying the car to see who was there. There had
been several persons in the car both times.
THE train stopped at Altoona, and Harry still sat alone in the car. He
realized that they had passed the famous Horseshoe Curve without the sight even
attracting his attention.
Now they were on their way again, and it was growing dark. The closed door
still intrigued Harry Vincent, and he watched it more intently than before. He
detected a motion. He buried his head suddenly behind his newspaper.
Peering upward over the top of the paper, he saw the door open wide. A man
stepped out, turning quickly so that his back was toward Harry, and the door
closed. Then the fellow disappeared along the passage that led to the door of
the car. Harry dropped his paper and followed. He reached the next car, but no
one was in sight when he came to the aisle. He walked through rapidly and
entered the second car. By this time he should have gained on the other man.
But there was no one in the aisle.
He was puzzled for the moment. Then he retraced his footsteps. It was
obvious that the other man had not gone through the train.
When he reached his own car, Harry pushed back the curtain of the smoking
compartment and entered. A man was seated by the window, staring into the
outside darkness.
The stranger had assumed a position that confirmed Harry's suspicions. The
man had his forehead pressed against the window, with both elbows on the sill,
and his hands against his face.
As Harry sat down beside the man and lighted a cigar, the stranger relaxed
himself. He did not turn in Harry's direction. But as Harry sat drowsily looking
at the floor, he was sure that the other man was studying him in the mirror
across the smoking compartment.
Harry spoke without looking at the other man.
"It's a long trip."
"Yeah," confirmed the other.
This was encouraging to Harry. Evidently the secretive passenger had
satisfied himself that Harry was simply an ordinary traveler.
"Do you make it often?" questioned Harry in a casual way.
"Once in a while," came the reply.
HARRY turned his head slightly toward his companion. Now he saw the man's
face. It was a sallow, smooth-shaven face. The man's eyes were dark and shifty.
He did not seem intent upon hiding has features now, but Harry did not watch him
long.
Instead, he looked straight ahead and made occasional remarks that might
enable him to involve the other man in conversation. He received responses that
were brief and few.
The porter entered the smoking compartment, and the stranger took that
opportunity to leave. When Harry went back into the car, he saw that the
drawing-room door was closed and he felt sure that the mysterious passenger had
returned to his seclusion.
The porter came through the car, and Vincent called to him.
"What's the next stop, porter?"
"Harrisburg, sah."
"Many people getting off there?"
"No, sah. None off this car. All going through to New York, sah."
Harry went to the diner and enjoyed the meal which he had so long delayed.
The train was pulling into Harrisburg when he came back to his car.
In the passageway he encountered a man who had a small valise. He
recognized him instantly as the passenger of the drawing-room.
The stranger moved aside and turned his head away as he allowed him to
pass. The train was slowing as Harry reached his seat. Without hesitation the
young man picked up his suitcase and hurried through to the car ahead -
directly opposite the exit by which the stranger was leaving.
CHAPTER V
MEN IN THE DARK
THE man who had occupied the drawing-room on the Eastern Limited entered a
telephone booth in the Harrisburg station. There was an empty booth behind him.
Harry Vincent went into it, and pretended to be calling a number.
The partitions in telephone booths are by no means sound-proof. Harry knew
this and smiled when he heard the number which the stranger called. There was
something about the man's voice that seemed familiar now.
The number had been obtained. Vincent heard words that gave him the final
clue to the stranger's identity.
"Hello, Wally," said the man. "This is Steve."
Steve! That filled the gap in Vincent's memory. He knew now that the
fellow was Steve Cronin, the New York gangster who was in hiding. Steve Cronin
was known to Harry Vincent, but Cronin did not know Vincent.
Some time ago, Cronin had murdered a man in a New York hotel, and had
escaped for parts unknown. Harry had seen Cronin then, but at that time the man
had had a black mustache. Now he was clean-shaven.
The New York police wanted Steve Cronin. That was not Harry's concern,
however. His instructions came from one source only - from a mysterious person
called The Shadow. At present, Harry was under no orders.
Yet The Shadow had been somewhat concerned with Cronin at the time of the
murder in the Metrolite Hotel. Whatever information Harry could obtain about
the man's present actions might prove useful. So he listened carefully.
Cronin's conversation was brisk and unilluminating. He seemed to be
cutting short the remarks that were coming over the phone.
"Tell me later," Harry heard him say. "Meet me an hour from now. I'll be
at the Gorham Hotel. I'll be registered as Stephen Bell. Come up to my room.
I'll leave the door open."
The receiver banged on the hook, and Steve Cronin walked from the booth.
HARRY VINCENT was at the Gorham Hotel twenty minutes later. The place was
an old one that had known better days. There were a few men hanging around the
lobby. Harry looked at the register and saw the entry of "Stephen Bell, Room
No. 322."
The clerk was busy, and Harry walked away from the desk. He sat in a
leather chair and read a newspaper. At the same time he kept a careful watch
and was suddenly elated when he saw Steve Cronin come down the stairs and go
out the door.
Evidently the man intended to go on some errand before his friend, Wally,
arrived. Cronin had said that the door would be open. Perhaps it was open now.
Harry decided to act. He went up the stairs and found Room No. 322. The door
was unlocked.
The room was dark, and Harry did not turn on the light. There was to be a
meeting here; it would be excellent if he could listen in. Where would be the
best place to hide? Under the bed would place him in a precarious position if
found, for he was unarmed. The closet might do; there at least he could defend
himself if discovered.
He turned toward the door which he had closed behind him. Then he became
suddenly motionless as the door opened slowly. Hidden in the darkness, he was
momentarily safe as a man entered and closed the door.
"Steve," came a whispered voice.
Harry responded to a daring plan which came to him on the instant.
"That you, Wally?" he whispered in return. "Don't turn on the light. Sit
down on the bed."
The man who had entered the room obeyed. Harry found a chair and sat by
the window.
"It wasn't my fault, Steve," came the man's voice in the darkness of the
room. "I spotted the guy the minute he stepped off the train last night. I
followed him to his hotel. I figured he'd stay there a while. Instead of that,
he hopped out and took a cab. Cabs ain't plentiful around here. I spotted the
number of his cab and got one myself. Figured the only place he could have gone
was to the station. I was right enough. His cab was there when I got there. But
I couldn't find him at all."
VINCENT did not reply. The speaker continued:
"I hope you ain't sore, Steve. I done my best. He must be coming back
here. I've watched his hotel. He left his bag there. What took you so long
getting in?"
"Slow train," growled Harry, trying to imitate the voice of Steve Cronin.
"What's the racket, Steve?" came the question. "I've been working blind
since I got your tip. Let me in on it, won't you?"
"I'll tell you later."
"You act like you are sore," said the man in the dark. "You don't talk
this way often, Steve. It don't sound like you. What's the matter?"
"Tell you what, Wally," returned Harry. "You run along a while. Come back
in half an hour. Let me think it over a bit."
"All right," said the man reluctantly. "Don't see why you want me to go
away, Steve; but this is your game. I didn't think you'd be this way about it.
Why don't you turn the lights on and be sociable?"
"The bulls are after me."
"I know that, Steve. But they ain't anywhere around here. They don't know
you're in Harrisburg. But you're the boss, Steve. I'll be back in an hour or
so."
He rose from the bed and stood listening beside the door.
"Did you hear anything, Steve?" came his whisper.
"No," said Harry softly.
"Sounds like some one outside the door."
"I don't hear it."
Wally stood motionless. Harry could not see him in the darkness, but he
knew the man was intent. Harry's nerves were tingling now. He sensed immediate
danger and wondered how he should act. He reached out and placed his hand on
the window sill, then peered out. Three stories down. No escape there.
A few seconds passed, and they seemed a long time. Then suddenly two
actions occurred with amazing quickness. The door swung open, and a hand
pressed the light switch. The room was instantly illuminated.
One of Harry's hands clutched the window sill; the other gripped the arm
of the chair as he stared at the scene before him.
By the bed stood Wally, a startled figure. He was a rough-looking
individual, with an ugly, unshaved face. His mouth was agape with astonishment.
At the door stood Steven Cronin, commanding the room. One hand was still
on the light switch. The other clutched a revolver which was close against the
holder's body. Cronin's lips were parted in a grim smile that revealed a gold
tooth at one side of his mouth. His keen, quick eyes were taking in the
situation.
Harry Vincent felt a sinking sensation. He was caught. What would be next?
CHAPTER VI
CRONIN TALKS TERMS
STEVE CRONIN closed the door of the room. He looked at the man called
Wally. Then he lowered his gun.
"Oh, it's you, Wally," he said. "Who's your friend over there?"
Wally had raised his hands at the threat of the revolver. He still held
them half upward in astonishment as he stared from Steve Cronin to Harry
Vincent. Then he looked back to the man at the door.
"It's you, Steve?" he asked.
"Of course."
Wally became active. His senses suddenly returned.
"Cover the guy by the window," he commanded. "Cover him quick, Steve."
Cronin raised the automatic, and Harry put his hands in the air.
"Get up," ordered Wally.
Harry obeyed. The man ran his hands over Harry's clothes.
"He ain't got a gun," said Wally.
Steve Cronin was now the astounded one.
"Sit down," he said to Harry. "You too, Wally. If the guy ain't got a gun,
we can talk sense. What's this all about?"
Wally looked at Harry, and seeing that he intended no action, decided to
explain matters:
"I come up here," he said, "and walk in the room. This guy was here, and I
thought he was you. He said to leave the light off. So I talked to him."
"What did you tell him?" asked Cronin.
"Not much; but I told him some things he'd better not know."
"Who is he?"
"How do I know? I thought he was you. That's why I was surprised when you
stepped in the door. I didn't get who you were at first. You look different
since you -"
"Never mind that, Wally," interrupted Cronin. He addressed Harry in a
voice that boded no good.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
Harry hesitated a moment, then he decided to take matters calmly and to
bluff his way out of this unexpected dilemma.
"My name is Vincent," he said quietly. "Harry Vincent."
"You're the guy that was on the train," said Cronin in sudden recognition.
"What's your idea of following me? Are you a bull?"
"Listen, Cronin," said Harry, with sudden boldness. "I'm a friend of
yours, but you don't know it. I made a big mistake butting in on this business.
I'll admit that. But I'm willing to get out."
"I guess you're anxious enough to get out," sneered Cronin. "But you'll
wait a while until I find out what you mean by this 'friend' stuff. I never saw
you before to-day."
"I've seen you before, Cronin," responded Harry. "I watched you follow a
man in New York. I was near by when you killed him. I might have made trouble
for you, but I didn't. That proves, at least, I'm not your enemy."
"Why are you trailing me now, then? How did you find me? How did you
happen to be on the same train?"
"That was just a coincidence, Cronin. I didn't recognize you on the train.
I was getting off at Harrisburg and I happened to call up a friend from the
booth next to yours. I heard you say where you were going to be. I realized who
you were when I heard your name. I wanted to talk business with you. So I came
here to the hotel."
"He was here in the room," explained Wally.
"That's right," admitted Harry. "I walked in, after I knocked. Then this
other fellow came in and called me 'Steve.' He thought I was you, Cronin. I
didn't tell him different. Thought I'd have a little fun with him."
STEVE CRONIN sat on the edge of the bed and whistled softly. He studied
Harry for fully a minute.
"Look here, Vincent," he said at last. "This story of yours is fishy.
That's all right. I expected it to be. I'd have told a fishy story myself if I
were you."
"I've told you the facts, Cronin."
"You've told me some facts," resumed Cronin with an easy smile. "But I
want more. You know who I am and you know some things about me. If you're a
dick, you're dumber than most of them. If you're a crook, you're a smooth one;
and that's what I think you are. What's your game?"
Harry became deliberate. Cronin had given him a cue, and he was puzzling
how he could use it. He smiled rather knowingly and took the opportunity calmly
to light a cigar. Then he confronted Cronin and commenced his bluff:
"Yes, I'm a crook," he announced. "Maybe I'm a good one; maybe I'm not. I
play a lone game when I can. I don't go looking for trouble. I let other
fellows get into it. Then I use what I find out.
"When I saw you in New York, Cronin, I figured you were after some big
game. I didn't have a chance to follow it up. When I saw you on the train
to-day, I half figured you were up to something. When I heard you talking on
the phone, I knew who you were and I heard enough to know that some game was
under way. I came over here to see what I could find out. Now that you know all
about it, I'll play with you if you let me in on it. If you want me to get out,
say so; and I'll move along."
Cronin whistled softly again as he considered the explanation.
"You're talking sense now, Vincent," he said. "You're speaking my
language. You're no fool and neither am I. You know what I'd do ordinarily,
don't you? I'd feed you some of the lead out of this gat in my pocket. But I'd
be a fool to do it now. I'm in a jam in New York and I'm still laying low. I
can't let anything interfere with the game I'm playing now. I can use your help
besides. I need some one with more brains than this fellow, Wally, here.
"Besides that, the game is big enough for the three of us. You'll get a
cut if you play square from now on. I think you will. So I'm letting you in."
Harry listened eagerly. Cronin spoke as though he were telling the truth.
Harry felt that he had gained the man's confidence and that he was to hear some
revelation.
"I've been out in Cleveland," said Cronin frankly. "I've been watching a
big bloke who has all kinds of money and doesn't care how he spends it. There's
something phony about the guy, though. Maybe you've heard his name. I'm going to
tell it to you -"
"Don't do that, Steve," interrupted Wally.
CRONIN glared angrily at his fellow crook. "Shut up, Wally," he said.
"You're not the boss. I'm headman of this outfit. Vincent is going to work with
us. He looks like he has sense enough to spot a guy that gets off a train
without letting him get away. That's more than you have, Wally."
He followed this rebuke by again addressing Harry. "The big boy out in
Cleveland," he said, "is named Elbridge Meyers. Every now and then he hops out
of town. Goes East for two or three days. Finding things out is my business. I
found out why Meyers left town so often. There's a woman mixed up in it. So I
figured that if I could get the goods on the old bloke, he'd cough up with the
dough."
"Blackmail," said Harry.
"That's the story," resumed Cronin. "Well, I watched this fellow carefully
enough, but he got away from me. First thing I knew he'd left town. I got in his
office after it was supposed to be closed and found a slip of paper crumpled in
the wastebasket. It was a memo this Meyers had made telling the time he was
leaving and where he was going - here to Harrisburg. I called up Wally, who was
in Philadelphia. He had time to get up here and meet the train. But he muffed
things. It's up to us to pick up the trail."
There was silence after Steve Cronin had finished speaking. Harry looked
at the man and nodded.
"Sounds good to me," he said. "Count me in on it. How are we going to work
it?"
Cronin shrugged his shoulders as he rose from the bed.
"We'll have to locate Meyers, first thing of all," he said. "Now is the
time to find him."
He turned to Wally, who was standing at the foot of the bed, looking
disgruntled.
"Go over in the corner, dim-wit," said Cronin. "I want to talk business
with a man that has brains. If you ear the dope, you'll probably spoil it.
You're just the deuce spot in this deck of cards, from now on."
He beckoned to Harry, who rose from the chair and joined Cronin in the
corner opposite the indignant Wally.
"Listen," said Cronin, placing one hand upon Harry's shoulder and speaking
low in his ear. "I've got a plan, but it takes nerve to work it. You're just the
fellow I've been looking for. You see, it's this way -"
SOMETHING caught Vincent in the back of the neck. His teeth clicked as his
head went backward. A hand was planted against his chin, and the side of his
head was driven against the wall. Just before he felt the blow, he heard the
sneering laugh of Steve Cronin. Then consciousness left him, and his body
slumped to the floor.
"Jujutsu stuff, Wally," chuckled Cronin. "He's out, and he'll stay out."
"What's the idea, Steve?" asked the amazed Wally. "Ain't you going to let
him work with us?"
"This guy? You must be crazy."
"What did you tell him all your business for then?"
"To make him believe me."
"You could have given him a phony story, Steve."
"Not with you around, Wally. He was looking at you. You might have given
the game away. The easiest system was to tell him the truth."
"Well, he fell for it. But he'll know too much when he wakes up."
Steve Cronin laughed.
"He knew too much anyway," he said. "He knew who I was. But he won't know
anything about it when he wakes up. Because he isn't going to wake up."
"You're going to bump him off?"
"Of course."
"Why didn't you do it right here?"
"Wally, there's no use trying to talk with you. Kill him here? Make a big
noise about it? All sorts of trouble then. Nothing doing. We aren't going to
figure in this thing at all - so far as anybody can find out. You wait here and
watch him. If he starts to wake up, tap him neatly with this. I'll be back in a
few minutes."
Steve Cronin drew a blackjack from his pocket and handed it to his
companion in crime. He left the room. Ten minutes later, he returned.
He glanced at the form of Harry Vincent as it lay limp in the corner. Then
he looked at Wally and grinned - and his ugly smile spoke more clearly than
words.
"Come on, Wally," he said. "Help me pick him up. We'll take him out like
he was drunk. You've got your car near here?"
"Just down the street."
"We'll put him in it. Then I'll tell you what to do. You're going to learn
something to-night, Wally. I've used the rod to put some fellows away, but I
know better ways of doing it. Safer ways."
Steve Cronin laughed again as they braced the unconscious Harry Vincent
between their shoulders. He was satisfied that this man who knew too much would
soon be where he could never reveal his knowledge.
CHAPTER VII
DOOMED TO DIE
AN old touring car was standing at the side of a dirt road. Its lights
were extinguished, and the vehicle was totally obscured in the darkness. There
were two men in the car. The one at the wheel was listening intently. The
other, who was beside him, was motionless as though asleep.
A motor throbbed in the distance, and as the sound came closer, the man at
the wheel of the touring car opened the door and stepped to the ground. He
looked back along the road toward the red light of a railroad crossing. A pair
of headlights appeared beyond, and a moving automobile came rapidly in view.
The second car came alongside the first and stopped in the center of the
road. The motor was turned off. The man beside the touring car was in the glare
of the headlights. He stepped to the car which had just arrived and opened the
door. It was a closed job.
A laugh came from within the automobile. A voice followed.
"How do you like my new sedan, Wally?"
"Pretty nice," said the man on the ground, in an admiring tone. "Where did
you get it?"
"Pinched it," was the reply. "How long have you been here?"
"About ten minutes, Steve. Boy, you sure made good time."
"I work fast, Wally."
"What are you going to do now, Steve?"
The man at the wheel of the sedan consulted his watch by the dashlight.
"I'm going to wait about five minutes," he said. "In that short time I'm
going to go over this little lesson that you've been learning. I want you to
know all the details of the Steve Cronin system for disposing of smart guys -
like that fellow you have in the car. Did he wake up at all?"
"Started to, Steve. I tapped him easy, like you said."
"That's good. If he's half awake, it's all the better for us."
"What's the game, Steve?"
"Don't be impatient, Wally. Let's go over details. Do you know what I did
when I went downstairs in the hotel?"
"You picked up a road map for one thing. I know that because you showed me
how to get out here. You told me to take my time. I'm glad you let me come easy,
because this road is a rough one, all right. I nearly busted a spring. I'll bet
there's not a car a week comes along here."
"That's all the better. Well, I'll tell you something else I did while I
was downstairs. I picked up a few timetables, and it took me just about three
minutes to find out what I wanted to know."
"What was that?"
"The times of passenger trains on some of the branch lines in and out of
Harrisburg. This branch back here for instance."
"Did you get the dope you wanted?"
"I did, Wally," he said. "I'll come to that later. After you started away,
I walked down the street by the hotel. We did a neat job getting this fellow
Vincent into your car. He looked just like a regular drunk.
"When I'd been out on the street before I came up to find you in the room,
I saw this sedan, and it looked like an easy one to pinch. These babies were all
I needed" - he clinked a bunch of keys in his pocket - "so I gave you time to
get started and then I followed along in this nice new automobile. I picked up
a few articles I needed while I was on my way here and now I'm ready for
business."
Cronin stepped from the sedan and walked over to the touring car. He
pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and studied the face of Harry Vincent.
"He'll be out for pretty near an hour anyway," Cronin observed. "So we
don't have to worry about that. But we'll plant a few things to make it look
good."
He pulled three bottles from his pocket. Two were empty; the odd one was
about one-third filled.
"Have a drink, Wally," said Cronin, passing the last bottle to his
companion. "Leave some, though. I brought that along with me from Cleveland."
Wally gulped at the bottle, and Cronin followed suit. Then he poured tiny
quantities of the liquor into the empty bottles and shook them around. He put
the cork back into the bottle that still contained a little liquid. This he
thrust in Harry's pocket. He tossed the empty bottles in the back of the
touring car.
"You went through this fellow's pockets, didn't you?" he asked.
"Sure thing," replied Wally.
"What did you take?"
"Only his watch and his money - about forty dollars. Nothing else there
that I wanted."
"Give me back about seven dollars."
Steve Cronin put the money in Vincent's wallet. There was a slight jingle
from the man's vest.
"What's that?" asked Cronin.
"Just change," answered Wally. "I forgot to take that."
"Leave it there. That makes it still better."
Steve Cronin climbed into the touring car and threw the automobile into
reverse.
"Stand on the running board," he said to Wally.
He backed the car along the rough road and up the incline to the center of
the railroad crossing. He stopped it there. He turned off the ignition and put
the car into high gear. Then he turned the ignition key on again.
Alighting from the automobile, Cronin walked to the opposite side. He
opened the door and pushed Harry's body toward the left. Together he and Wally
completed the arrangements. Harry Vincent lay slumped over the wheel.
Cronin surveyed his work.
"Just one thing I forgot," he remarked.
He took the bottle from Harry's pocket. He tilted back the head of the
unconscious man and poured about half of the remaining contents down his
throat. Some of the liquor spilled on Harry's coat. Steve Cronin chuckled.
"Details, Wally," he said. "Details always count. This makes it perfect.
Drunk at the wheel. Stalled on the crossing. Empty bottles that smell of
liquor."
He walked down the road, followed by Wally, in the glare of the headlights
of the stranded car. Cronin had flashed the lights on when he had backed the
car. He turned and looked along the road as he consulted his watch.
"In about seven minutes," he said, "this will be finished. That crossing
was just made to suit me. Notice how it curves? The engineer won't know a thing
about it until he is right on top of the car."
The whole idea now dawned on Wally.
"So that's why you looked up the time-tables!" he exclaimed. "Is it a fast
train, Steve?"
"Fast enough to suit me. There's a station about a mile down the line, as
near as I can figure it from the map. But it isn't even a flag stop for this
train. It will come through here mighty fast."
As if in answer to Cronin's prediction, the men heard the distant whistle
of a locomotive - a long, plaintive whistle that indicated a train moving at
rapid speed.
"Climb aboard, Wally," exclaimed Steve Cronin as he jumped to the wheel of
the sedan. "We're going straight ahead in a hurry. The rest will take care of
itself."
The tail light of the sedan disappeared around a bend. All was silent at
the crossing. There was another whistle of the locomotive through the night,
but the unconscious man at the wheel of the touring car could not hear it.
Steve Cronin had planned well. The fulfillment of his scheme had become a
matter of minutes only. A mighty juggernaut of iron was hurtling along the
steel rails, and in its certain path stood the waiting automobile.
CHAPTER VIII
DUNCAN'S VISITOR
The very time when Harry Vincent lay helpless behind the wheel of the
abandoned touring car, Bruce Duncan was comfortably seated in the upstairs room
of his dead uncle's home. Once more he was pondering over the odd adventure that
he had experienced within these walls.
Patience was not one of Bruce Duncan's virtues. He realized this as he sat
in the armchair, staring at the fireplace.
Three weeks had elapsed since the mysterious visitor of the night had
entered his home. During that time he had failed utterly in his attempts to
discover who the visitor might be.
Nothing had disturbed him since; but he did not expect that. The thief had
obtained what he had sought. Why should he be molested further?
Three weeks - to be exact, three weeks and one night. Twenty-two days
without action. It was Wednesday now; the hiding place in the hearth had been
opened on a Tuesday night.
Duncan was sure of but two facts - first, that the actual thief had been
an ape-faced creature that had seemed inhuman; second, that some one had been
outside the window, directing the actions of the strange being.
The door opened, and Abdul, his Hindu servant, entered.
"Eleven o'clock, sahib," said the servant. "Do you need me longer?"
"Better wait up until midnight, Abdul," suggested Duncan. "By the way,
what day was it that you mailed that last letter I gave you?"
"Sunday, sahib."
Duncan went to the desk and brought out some papers. He studied them
thoughtfully while the Hindu moved quietly about the room.
The letters had been Duncan's only hope for a clue to the mystery which
perplexed him. Among his uncle's documents he had found a list of four names
which Tremaine had identified as persons with whom Harvey Duncan had conducted
considerable correspondence.
Artful questioning had satisfied Bruce Duncan that the lawyer knew nothing
about his uncle's connection with a prominent Russian. But it was possible that
one of these four men might be able to supply some information.
So he had written them and had received three replies to his carefully
worded notes. The letters that had come in indicated that the men knew nothing
- unless they had deliberately sought to conceal facts. Bruce intended to
investigate that later.
In the meantime he had sent a second letter to the man who had not
replied. It was an urgent letter, asking for an immediate response and
suggesting a visit. This was the letter that Abdul had mailed on Sunday night.
Bruce put the memoranda back in the desk and returned to his chair. At
that moment the doorbell rang. Abdul went to answer it.
The Hindu returned a few minutes later.
"Man to see you, sahib."
"What's his name, Abdul?"
"Mr. Isaac Coffran."
Duncan fairly leaped from his chair.
"Bring him in, Abdul," he exclaimed.
The visitor was the man to whom the last letter had been addressed!
The Hindu ushered an elderly gentleman into the room. The newcomer was of
slight build and stoop-shouldered. He used a cane as he walked, and he turned
his head upward to stare at Duncan with sharp, blue eyes that were both
friendly and inquisitive.
He accepted Bruce Duncan's handshake and sat in the armchair facing the
fireplace, while the young man took a position close beside him.
A strange old fellow, thought Duncan. Older than his uncle, yet alert
despite his age. It was impossible to determine the exact age of Isaac Coffran.
The man's face was clean-shaven, and his cheeks were smooth and tight.
"I received your letter," announced the old man in a wheezy yet amiable
voice. "It seemed important, so I came to see you. It is not often that I leave
my house."
He laughed; then he added: "This is the first time I have been outside for
several months."
"I'm sorry," observed Duncan apologetically. "I could have come to see
you."
"No, no," replied the old man. "It was only a few hours from New York. The
night is mild, and the trip has done me good. A friend brought me. He is outside
in his automobile."
"Would you like to stay all night?" offered Duncan.
"No, no. I am used to late hours. A habit that I have had ever since I was
young like you. I can stay only a little while. Why was it that you wished to
see me?"
Duncan stared speculatively across the room. He felt that he must be
tactful; at the same time, old Isaac Coffran was so affable that it seemed good
policy to confide in him. Duncan was anxious to learn all that he could, and
although he did not intend to divulge his uncle's secret, he felt that he might
be safe in giving an inkling of it.
"You knew my uncle well?" he questioned.
"Very well," affirmed the old man. "He and I knew each other for years. We
had business dealings long ago - before I retired. He used to come to see me
occasionally, and he wrote me frequently."
"Did you see him before he died?"
The old man shook his head.
"No," he said, "I did not. I sent my regards to him when I learned that he
was ill, but I had no idea that his condition was serious. I was greatly
saddened by his death. He was considerably younger than myself."
"Did my uncle have any enemies?" questioned Duncan.
Isaac Coffran smiled.
"We are all likely to have enemies"" he said. "Your uncle was an active
man. He was in many parts of the world. He made many friends, and I suppose he
made enemies, also. Why do you ask?"
"Because" - Duncan hesitated a moment - "because I am sure that my uncle
had apprehensions of some sort."
"Did he ever mention them to you?"
"No, because I did not arrive here until after he had died."
"That's right. My memory is not so good as it used to be. I recall that
you were not here. I received a letter after your Uncle Harvey died that stated
you came too late. I believe the letter was from your uncle's old servant. What
was the man's name?"
"Hopkins."
"That's right. I received a letter from Hopkins, Ah! That's the man you
should see. Hopkins. He was with your uncle for a long while."
"Hopkins is dead."
"You don't mean it!" There was a tone of real sorrow in Isaac Coffran's
voice. "Poor Hopkins! Faithful servant he was. Died so soon, too!"
"That adds to my belief that my uncle had enemies."
THE old man leaned over and tapped Bruce Duncan on the shoulder.
"Your imagination is at work, my boy," he said. "I don't think that your
suspicions are correct. So far as I know, your uncle had nothing to conceal
from any one. There is no cause for alarm."
The friendly tone was comforting.
"I wish I could agree with you, Mr. Coffran," said Duncan. "Unfortunately,
I cannot. I am sure that my uncle possessed an important secret which he told to
no one."
"Imagination, my boy."
"It's not imagination. It is reality. Because my uncle took care that I
should learn that secret, even though I did not arrive in time to hear it from
his own lips. I have read a message, written by my uncle. It told me everything
-"
The old man held up a hand in warning.
"I believe you, my boy. But you must not say another word. Your uncle was
a friend of mine; if he had wished that I should know his secret, he would have
told it to me. Keep his secret carefully, whatever it may be."
Bruce Duncan smiled.
"I intend to do so," he said. "But there are certain facts which I can
state to you. First of all, I did not read his message until one month after
his death. It concerned certain documents that were hidden here in the house.
"The night before I read the message, a thief entered this room and stole
the very articles that were mentioned in my uncle's message. I saw the thief at
work; being ignorant of the facts at the time, I did not act."
Duncan went to the fireplace and pushed the secret spring. The stone on
the hearth sprang open before the astonished gaze of Isaac Coffran. Duncan
studied the old man as the latter leaned forward in his chair, his mouth gaping.
"Incredible!" exclaimed Isaac Coffran. "Incredible!"
"It is my duty," explained Duncan, "to recover the stolen articles.
Inasmuch as the hiding place is known to some person besides ourselves and as
it is now empty, I betray no confidence in showing it to you."
"You saw the thief, you say?"
"Yes."
"Could you recognize him?"
"I could. That is why I want to know if my uncle had enemies. The man who
robbed that hiding place was scarcely a human being. He was an ape-faced
monstrosity; a hideous creature who entered my window while I was half asleep.
I thought that I was dreaming, until after the creature had gone."
"You have no clue whatever as to the identity of this - of this person?"
The old man's tone was almost plaintive. Duncan could recognize his
concern. He felt that if he encouraged Isaac Coffran, he might stir the old
man's memory.
"I have clues, now," Duncan said wisely. "I believe that I am on the trail
of the thief. I have assembled facts that should enable me to find him. Remember
that I have my uncle's secret. If I can gain some knowledge of his past
activities, I can surely find the links that are now missing in the chain of
circumstances. That is why I have appealed to you."
THE old man seemed thoughtful. "Perhaps I can help you," he said slowly.
"My memory is poor - very, very poor. But if this concerns your uncle's past,
as it appears to do, you might be able to trace some clue if you had access to
letters which your uncle had written. Am I right?"
"Exactly right."
"I have many letters from your uncle. I have forgotten the contents of
most of them - probably of all of them. But I have kept them in a box at my
house. Would you like to see them?"
"I should indeed."
"It will be difficult for me to bring them here. Perhaps -"
"I can come to your house in New York."
"As soon as you wish."
"To-morrow night?"
"That will be excellent."
The old man arose. Duncan summoned Abdul. The Hindu brought Isaac
Coffran's coat.
"You will find my house rather strange," said Isaac Coffran as they stood
at the front door. "It is an old house, in a very poor neighborhood. The
locality was a good one years ago. But times have changed. I am so used to the
old place that I cannot bear to leave it."
They stepped on the porch, and the old man went down the steps to a
waiting automobile.
"I will be at your house to-morrow night at eight," called Duncan in
parting.
"I shall expect you," came Isaac Coffran's reply.
The headlights of the car were turned on and lighted up the driveway.
Strange shadows appeared in the glare - long shadows of trees, short shadows of
bushes, grotesque, shapeless shadows. The car rolled away.
Duncan and Abdul went in the front door. The small porch light was still
on, and another shadow appeared beneath its illumination. This shadow moved
across the porch and became motionless. It was a long, thin shadow which
terminated in a huge, distorted profile. The light was turned off by the Hindu
servant; the shadow was blotted into nothingness, and two spots, bright as
burning coals, faded into the night.
Neither of the men in the house had seen the shadow. Bruce Duncan was
already on his way upstairs when it appeared upon the porch. Abdul, when he
turned off the light, was too occupied to think of looking through the small
window beside the front door.
For the Hindu servant was concerned with something that he held in his
hand - a scrap of paper which had fallen from the pocket of Isaac Coffran's
coat.
Beneath the hall light, Abdul studied the piece of paper and slowly
perused the scrawled words that appeared upon it, repeating them to himself as
a man who found it difficult to read:
"Find out what Duncan knows. Investigate personally. Prevent all
interference. Plans are working perfectly."
Abdul read the message several times. Then a look of understanding
appeared upon his dark face. He nodded, as though to himself. He folded the
paper carefully and slipped it in a pocket of his jacket.
CHAPTER IX
THREE MEN MISSING
HARRY VINCENT raised his head and opened his eyes. He found himself
staring through the windshield of an automobile. The car was standing still.
Its gleaming lights revealed a rough dirt road that curved away among the trees.
He placed his hand to the side of his head. There was a throbbing pain
there. The back of his head ached, too. Somehow it was difficult to think. He
could not remember entering the automobile; yet here he was, slouched over the
wheel.
Harry closed his eyes and slumped aver the wheel again. The throbbing
continued, more painfully now. He gave up trying to remember what had happened.
The whistle of a locomotive sounded through the silent night. Four short
blasts, some distance away. The whistle of a standing locomotive.
Two minutes passed. The throbbing bothered Harry, and he shifted his
position. He sat up again. He opened his eyes; this time his consciousness was
more alert.
A bell had commenced to ring - a loud bell - not ten feet away. Its
continued dingle increased the throbbing of his head. What did the bell mean?
He rubbed his forehead and looked around.
The glint of metal on the ground attracted his attention, but his confused
mind did not identify it as the rails of a single track until he detected a
singing sound. Then the connection came. The automobile was stalled upon a
railroad crossing; the bell meant that a train was approaching!
As the horror of the situation dawned upon Harry, a bright glare burst the
darkness. Out of the night came the headlight of an onrushing locomotive!
Instinct came to Harry's rescue. He thrust his foot forward. By sheer luck
it pressed squarely against the pedal of the self-starter. The car had been left
in gear; the ignition switch was on; and the response was instantaneous The
automobile jolted forward; its front wheels rolled down the incline from the
crossing. The motor started because of the added impetus.
For the fraction of a second the fate of Harry Vincent stood undecided.
The car had come to life; the slope had enabled it to start in high gear; yet
the mighty monster of the rails was bearing down upon the moving automobile at
whirlwind speed.
The glare of the headlight was dazzling; the heavy locomotive was almost
upon the fragile car that barred its path. But the very instant that the huge
engine clattered on the crossing, the rear wheels of the touring car slipped
over the incline. The plunging piston rods almost grazed the back of the
automobile.
A new danger threatened momentarily. As the train shot by, Harry urged by
the terror of his close escape, pressed the accelerator. The touring car
whirled along the bumpy road. Harry's hands lost their clutch on the wheel. The
automobile lunged into the ditch at the side of the road, then the driver
regained control. He swung back to safety and brought the car to a stand-still.
Harry leaned forward against the wheel as he listened to the roar of the
train off through the distance. The sound became less, then it ceased. His
brain began to work; the incidents of the evening flashed in rapid memory.
Steve Cronin - the man on the train. The room in the hotel, where he had
been discovered. The offer that Cronin had made with his account of Elbridge
Meyers, the man that Cronin sought. These facts were clear now.
Harry's head still throbbed. He knew that he must get somewhere. So he
drove the car cautiously along the road and turned off at the first crossing,
finding a better highway that paralleled the railroad. After several miles the
road turned beneath a trestle and curved up a hill. At the top Harry stopped
and alighted beside a railroad station.
The ticket agent was behind his window. His clock registered the time as
ten minutes of twelve. Harry felt for his watch. It was gone.
"When's the next train?" he asked.
"Where to? Harrisburg?" questioned the man at the window.
"Yes."
"To-morrow morning. The last one left here fifteen minutes ago."
"How far is it to Harrisburg?"
"Only about ten miles. You've got a car out there, haven't you?"
"Yes."
"Drive into town, then. You can't get another train to-night."
The station agent laughed.
"You're way after train time, anyway," he remarked. "The train that just
left was forty minutes late. They were having trouble with repair work on the
trestle. Had to flag the train at a little station about six miles up the line.
Held it there more than half an hour."
The whole of Steve Cronin's fiendish scheme unfolded itself to Harry as he
drove, half dazed, along the road to Harrisburg. Helpless, in the touring car on
the railroad crossing, he had been left for what promised to be certain
destruction. The fact that the train was to be held for thirty minutes at the
station before the crossing was something that Steve Cronin had not known.
Harry had regained consciousness in the nick of time. Yet he was still
groggy, and the lights of the city streets danced before his eyes as he drove
into Harrisburg. He managed to locate the station. He left the touring car in a
parking space.
There was a sleeping car in the station, waiting to be attached to a
through train bound for New York. The seven dollars in Harry's wallet was about
sufficient for the railroad fare; in with his change were some silver dollars
that he always carried. So he engaged a berth and was soon asleep, for the
throbbing in his head ceased when he lay down.
MORNING found Harry Vincent in the Pennsylvania Station in New York. He
registered at the Metrolite Hotel, had breakfast, then set out for the office
of Claude Fellows, the insurance broker in the Grandville Building.
Fellows greeted Harry with a cordial smile.
"I am glad you arrived to-day," he said. "I have something to discuss with
you."
Harry watched the chubby-faced insurance broker as the man went to a
filing cabinet. His connection with Fellows was a simple one. The insurance
broker was The Shadow's detail man. Giving instructions and receiving reports
seemed to be his entire work.
Fellows returned to the desk with two clippings. One was from a newspaper
in Trenton, New Jersey, the other from a journal in Richmond, Virginia.
Harry read them. The first was an account of the strange disappearance of
a commercial artist named Arthur Hooper; the other told of the mysterious
vanishing of J. Howard Longstreth, a druggist.
"Note the similarity of those two items," remarked Fellows. "Both men left
suddenly. They stated that they would be back within two or three days, yet
neither has returned. Hooper left Trenton, slightly over two weeks ago;
Longstreth left Richmond just about one week ago.
"You could transpose the names of the men, yet the facts would serve for
both cases. A strange coincidence, isn't it?"
"Very strange," replied Harry, "yet it can be nothing more than
coincidence."
"Do you think so?" said Fellows. "Well, Vincent, I spend a great deal of
time looking through out-of-town papers for coincidences such as this. In the
majority of cases they have meant the beginning of important events."
"Involving The Shadow?"
"Of course. Those clippings indicate something unusual. I have sent copies
of them to the empty office on Twenty-third Street, where The Shadow receives
his messages. I have received instructions to watch for any further news of
similar disappearances."
"Do you expect such news?"
"Perhaps. Note that these men disappeared a week apart. Hooper left
Trenton on a Tuesday afternoon; Longstreth was last seen in Richmond on a
Monday. The papers did not give the news until the end of the week, in either
case."
A sudden thought occurred to Harry Vincent.
"I have a report to make," he said, "and it may fit in with this. It
concerns a man named Elbridge Meyers who left Cleveland, Tuesday morning - two
days ago."
Fellows seemed interested. Vincent began his story from the time that he
had first observed the man on the train, who had proved to be Steve Cronin.
When he completed his narrative, he was surprised to see Fellows become
unusually alert.
"Write that down immediately," said the insurance broker, handing him pen
and ink. "I have something to do in the meantime."
While Harry prepared his report, Fellows was busy with the telephone.
"Universal Insurance Company?" he called. "This is Fellows, in the
Grandville Building. Notify your Cleveland agent to find out if Mr. Elbridge
Meyers is in his office in that city. If he is not in his office, try his home.
Have them call me when they are ready with their report."
While Fellows was reading and approving Vincent's report, the telephone
bell rang.
"Hello," said the insurance broker. "What's that? Cleveland calling?...
Oh, yes. This is Mr. Fellows... What's that? Elbridge Meyers is out of town?
Wait a moment."
He pencil made notes as he repeated them.
"Left Tuesday morning... Expected back the next day... Had important
appointment. Neglected it, but should have been back this morning... Never away
more than forty-eight hours... His partner is worried.
"No, I haven't heard from him... I was anxious to communicate with him, as
a friend gave me his name as a good insurance prospect. Let me know if you hear
that he has returned.
"Thank you. Good-by."
Fellows seized the pen and wrote a message of his own. He sealed it in an
envelope with Vincent's report, went to the outer office, and gave the packet
to the stenographer. The girl left.
"Steve Cronin evidently told you the truth," observed Fellows in a
methodical voice. "He expected to do away with you. Hence his entire story may
be correct. If so, he does not know why Elbridge Meyers went to Harrisburg.
That makes the Meyers disappearance as mysterious as the others.
"Your report has enabled me to turn in information a few days before the
story will appear in the Cleveland papers. Furthermore, it locates Harrisburg
as a center. Make yourself at home here. We should receive a reply within an
hour."
The stenographer had left at five minutes after ten. She returned about
twenty minutes later. At exactly eleven o'clock a messenger arrived with an
envelope for Fellows.
The insurance broker stood by the window as he read the letter carefully.
He stared for a while as though committing facts to memory. When he laid the
paper on the desk it was a blank sheet of paper. This was no surprise to
Vincent. He, too, had received letters from The Shadow; letters written in
simple code, with disappearing ink that vanished after a few minutes.
"Vincent," said Fellows, "when unusual crimes occur, unusual men are often
responsible for them. There is a man in this city who has been indirectly
concerned with other disappearances. He lives in a section of the East Side;
his name is Isaac Coffran.
"I learned that this man has been watched for the past few days - either
by The Shadow or by one of his men, for there are others besides us. Last night
Isaac Coffran left his home - something which he has not done for months.
To-night he expects a visitor named Bruce Duncan.
"Coffran's house must be watched, and you are the man appointed. There is
an empty store across the street. The door is unlocked. You can stay in there.
Here is an envelope that contains a telephone number. There is a telephone in
the store. Report when any one enters Coffran's house, and whenever any one
leaves. If a man goes in and stays there more than two hours, report by
telephone.
"Your report concerning Harrisburg will doubtless be investigated
to-night. Naturally you are not the man to go back there at present. Hence you
will perform this new duty."
The chubby-faced insurance broker became very solemn as he added the final
words of his instructions.
"Remember, Vincent," he said, "that Isaac Coffran is a very dangerous man.
He is not of the criminal type; he has never been suspected of a crime. Yet I
have been assured that he has not only known the facts of the disappearances of
various people, but also that certain persons have entered his house and have
never been seen afterward.
"The police know nothing whatever of this man's activities. Coffran is old
and wise. His memory is remarkable, and his resources are many.
"So be alert. Be careful. Remember all you see, and report everything. We
are on the verge of important discoveries. Three men are missing. The Shadow
intends to find out where they are."
Harry Vincent left the office with the address of Isaac Coffran tucked
away in his vest pocket. He was sober as he went down in the elevator.
Fellows's words had been impressive; never before had the insurance broker
talked so thoroughly. A tremendous crisis must have arisen, for The Shadow's
detail man had exhibited unprecedented activity.
Master minds were engaged in some uncommon crime. The Shadow was exerting
all his power to defeat them. The Shadow would need many eyes to-night.
CHAPTER X
INTO THE SNARE
THE house of Isaac Coffran was an old brick building in an obscure street
on the East Side. It seemed strangely deserted to Bruce Duncan as he rang the
bell alongside the massive door.
If his uncle's friend had not assured him that he should come at eight
o'clock Thursday evening, Bruce would have decided that the house was
unoccupied. For all the windows at the front were closed with iron shutters.
Even now he hesitated. He had rung the bell three times, yet there had
been no response from within. Still, it was exactly eight o'clock. It would be
best to wait.
The door opened suddenly. Bruce started backward as he faced a huge,
dull-faced man whose features were marred by a livid scar across one cheek. The
fellow was considerably over six feet in height, and his frame was powerful.
"What you want?" demanded the man in a thick, guttural voice.
"Does Mr. Isaac Coffran live here?"
"Yes. What name?"
"Duncan. Mr. Bruce Duncan."
The huge man removed his bulk from the doorway and motioned for Bruce to
enter. He stepped into a dimly lighted hallway, and the man closed the door and
bolted it.
"Wait here," he said, indicating a chair.
The big attendant went up the stairs at the end of the hall. Duncan waited
several minutes. Then he heard Isaac Coffran calling him from the head of the
steps.
"Come up, my boy," were the old man's words.
Isaac Coffran seemed greatly pleased as he shook hands with Bruce Duncan
in the upper hallway. He ushered his visitor into a comfortable sitting room at
the back of the house.
"Well, boy," said the old man, smiling and rubbing his hands with
satisfaction, "I have your uncle's letters all waiting for you."
"Have you looked through them?" questioned Duncan eagerly. "Did you find
anything important?"
"I have not had time to read them. I am leaving that work to you. It is
your privilege; especially as the letters would not give me any clue. I am
quite ignorant of what you wish to discover."
"That's true. Where are the letters?"
"In my study. I shall take you there in a few minutes. You may be a long
while reading. So I have arranged everything for you to stay all night."
"That's kind of you, Mr. Coffran."
The old man looked at Bruce quizzically.
"Were you surprised at the appearance of this house?" he asked.
"Yes, I was," admitted Bruce. "I would have thought that it was unoccupied
if you had not assured me that you would be at home."
ISAAC COFFRAN smiled. "I am not at home except to a very few friends," he
said. "I prefer to keep the house closed in this manner. I have retired from
the world. This is a bad neighborhood, and it is necessary to keep the house
well-barred. I can't think of leaving this old home. But it is safe here. No
one can enter, and Pedro, my servant, is faithful and reliant."
"He appears to be," Bruce remarked sincerely.
"Yes, and he is ignorant. It is well that he should be. It is best never
to trust important affairs to servants. By the way, your own servant - that
Hindu - are you sure that he is faithful?"
"Absolutely."
"He might be connected with the theft that took place in your uncle's
room."
"I thought of that, Mr. Coffran. I'm sure that Abdul knew nothing about
it."
"Where is he now?"
"I left him home."
"You told him that he could reach you here, of course?"
"I told him nothing. There is no reason why he should need to communicate
with me. I trust Abdul, as I said; but I felt that my visit here should be kept
secret. The Hindu cannot tell any one where I have gone if he does not know
where I am."
"That was a wise course, my boy."
"In fact," added Duncan, "I told Abdul that I might not be home for days -
or even for weeks. If I find a clue in my uncle's letters, I may start to follow
it right away. So the Hindu has instructions to look after the house and wait
until I return. You know how those Orientals are. He will stay on the job
perpetually until he receives further instructions."
"Very good," observed Isaac Coffran. "Being at the house, he will be
available if you need him."
"I was careful coming here, too," explained Duncan. "I left my car in a
garage on the West Side and came this way in a taxicab. You and your servants
are the only persons who know that I am here."
A crafty smile appeared upon the withered face of Isaac Coffran. Duncan
was startled as he saw the sudden change in the old man's features. But the
next words of his uncle's friend were reassuring.
"You are wise, my boy. From what you have told me, your uncle must have
some enemy. I thought about it as I came home last night. We must be wise when
we are dealing with unknown dangers. We must meet guile with guile. Your uncle
was a brave and fearless man; better than that, he was keen and perceptive. He
knew how to meet those who plotted against him. You remind me of your uncle."
Bruce Duncan smiled. The old man's statement was pleasing.
"Yes," continued Isaac Coffran, "you have come to the right place. I feel
that I shall be able to give you good advice - after you have read your uncle's
letters. Study them well, my boy; and remember everything that seems important.
Then tell me what you have found in them. I am an old man; my memory is poor.
Yet I have not lost my youthful ability to think clearly and cleverly. I
believe that you will agree with me before long."
"It is fortunate that I met you," agreed Duncan. "Even if nothing tangible
is learned by this visit, I feel that I am getting somewhere. I want action;
these three weeks of idleness have tried my nerves. I am ready for danger; in
fact, I would like to encounter it."
"Spoken like your uncle!" exclaimed Isaac Coffran. "He liked adventure,
and he found it. Perhaps you will find it, too. But remember one thing. Caution
is as important as daring. Guard your actions well."
Bruce Duncan laughed.
"Those words sound almost as if you were foretelling the future," he said.
The old man smiled. He rose from his chair, took his cane, and motioned to
Duncan.
"Come," he said. "Time may be precious. You have work to do."
LEADING the way down a dark hall toward the front of the house, the old
man stopped at a door. He opened the portal and revealed a small room, lighted
by globed wall lamps. The apartment was lined with shelves of books.
"Step in," he invited. "This is my study. A quiet, cozy place in which you
will not be disturbed."
Duncan entered the room. He noted that it contained no windows. It was a
square room, with a desk in one corner where the bookcases ended. There was
another special corner; it was almost an addition to the room - a small nook
that projected into the wall.
Evidently it was intended as a place for a reading corner; there was a
chair there and a light in the ceiling above, which was lower than the rest of
the room. But the light was not turned on.
Isaac Coffran indicated the desk. A pile of letters lay upon it, under the
beam of a small desk lamp.
"Your uncle's letters," said the old man. "I have not even looked through
them. I know that some of them date back as far as twenty years. They are all
dated, I believe, and I have kept them in regular order from beginning to end.
"My suggestion is that you read them one by one. Do not skip any of them.
There may be references that will be explained in later letters. My only
recollection of your uncle's writing is that he reviewed my replies in each
succeeding letter. Hence they should all be self-explanatory.
"Forget time, my boy. I shall be in the front room awake half the night.
Read as long as you desire, and concentrate upon your reading. It is the only
way to stimulate deep thought.
"I shall close the door of the room so that you will not be disturbed.
Should you wish to speak with me push this button beside the desk. It will
summon Pedro, who stays up as late as I do."
Bruce Duncan sat at the desk and opened the first letter. He recognized
the firm writing of his uncle.
Isaac Coffran placed a friendly hand upon Bruce's shoulder.
"Read on, my boy. Let us hope that before you have finished you will know
more than you do now."
Duncan heard the door close behind the old man. There was a slight click
of the latch. In comfortable silence, the young man began to read.
Outside the study, Isaac Coffran stood quiet and alert, listening at the
closed door. He raised his finger to his lips as Pedro came down the hall. The
servant with the scar stood as motionless as his master.
Minutes ticked by. Finally the old man smiled. It was a wicked smile, a
cunning smile. It was a smile that would have startled Bruce Duncan had he seen
it. It was a smile that brought an ugly, sneering grin to the face of Pedro.
Then Isaac Coffran raised a long, thin hand and pressed a button high in
the wall above the door. A panel slid noiselessly into place. It concealed the
door completely. When it had closed, there was no break in the wall along the
hallway. One would never have supposed that a room existed behind that spot.
The old man stepped back and scanned the place where the door had been.
The smile was still on his face as he raised his hands to his forehead and
bowed. The action brought another grin to the face of the silent Pedro.
It was like a little ceremony on the part of Isaac Coffran, as though he
had bidden farewell to some one whom he did not expect to see again.
CHAPTER XI
CRONIN SEES A SHADOW
STEVE CRONIN looked over his shoulder as he walked through the lobby of
the old hotel in Harrisburg. There was no one in view except the clerk behind
the desk, yet the gangster felt uneasy.
"Must be getting the willies," he observed to himself as he walked up the
steps, ignoring the antiquated elevator. "Funny I never felt this way before."
He paused at the door of his room. He looked back along the corridor. It
was very dim back there - dim and shadowy. He stared for half a minute as
though he expected some movement in the darkness. Then he opened his door,
slipped his hand cautiously through the narrow space, and turned the switch.
He entered the room quickly, looked about him, and closed the door. The
brightness was somewhat reassuring, yet Cronin was not content until he had
peered beneath the bed and in the closet. Then he lowered the window shade.
The gangster sat in the chair which Harry Vincent had occupied on the
previous night.
"Funny," he murmured. "First time I ever felt nervous like this. Always
laughed at guys that acted like they were scared. But to-night - whew!"
He looked toward the closed door.
"Even the stairs," he muttered. "They creaked like blazes. This must be an
old place, all right. Sounded funny, though. Wouldn't have thought that I could
have made all that noise coming up. Sounded like somebody was with me! Could
have been, too, in all that darkness."
He went to his grip and brought out a bottle. He took a long drink. Then
he went back to the chair.
Three taps on the door. Cronin started. He gripped the arms of the chair
for a moment. Then he laughed.
"Wally," he said. "Only Wally."
He unlocked the door and opened it, stepping back quickly. His henchman,
Wally, looked at him, and Cronin was momentarily startled by the long shadow
that was silhouetted upon the floor. Then he laughed again. He turned and
walked back toward the window. Wally followed him.
Steve Cronin turned suddenly. He saw the door still open. He stepped
rapidly across the room to close and lock it.
"What's the idea, Wally?" he demanded. "You ought to have enough sense to
close a door in back of you."
Wally stared in surprise.
"What's the matter, Steve?" he asked. "You look kind o' queer to-night.
Sort o' pale, ain't you? What's up?"
"Nothing," growled Cronin as he sat in the chair by the window. He lighted
a cigarette.
"Yeah," reaffirmed Wally, "you look worried."
"Maybe I am," admitted Cronin. "I'm going to forget it, though. Guess I've
been jumping around too much lately. I don't know when this hit me, Wally. About
a half an hour ago, I guess, in the restaurant."
"What was the matter?"
"Nothing. That's the trouble. While I was sitting there, it seemed as
though somebody was looking at me. There were some people there, but none of
them was paying any attention to me. When I looked around it was all right, but
as soon as I began to eat again, I felt just like I had before."
"Huh," grunted Wally.
"All right," said Steve Cronin. "That wasn't all of it. As I was looking
at the table, a big shadow fell right in front of me. A shadow like a man's
head, with eyes like fire that burned into you. Then it was gone. I looked up
quick. Nobody near me."
WALLY made no reply.
"All the way back to the hotel," continued Cronin, "it seemed like some
one was following me. Through the lobby - up the stairs."
"All over a shadow. Shadows can't bother anybody."
"They can't, eh? I didn't think so, either. But there was a guy I knew
once - a fellow they called Croaker. He went nuts over a shadow. Thought it was
alive and following him. He wasn't any good at all after that. The boys bumped
him off for double-crossing them, and I heard that when he went out he was
still crying about The Shadow."
"All bunk, Steve."
"Bunk, nothing. I saw the guy the same night he died. He was telling me
about The Shadow. He thought it was real. It made me laugh. But he wouldn't
take much to convince me now that there is a real person - a real person called
The Shadow."
There was silence for a moment. Steve Cronin took another drink and put
the bottle back in the suitcase.
"Well," he said in a forced tone of briskness, "it looks like we're out of
luck, Wally."
"There ain't no sign of this guy Meyers," replied the henchman. "I've been
watching for him. He's gone, all right."
"Then he's back in Cleveland. He never stays away more than two days. I'll
have to go back and begin operating again."
"Guess that's the best thing. Say, Steve. What about the guy we - the guy
last night?"
"Him?" Cronin laughed. "He's out. You saw what I did. He didn't have a
shoemaker's chance."
"Nothin' in the papers about it."
"Say, Wally, do you think that means anything? Maybe they haven't got the
news yet. Even if they have, what of it? Thousands go out that way every year -
clipped on railroad crossings. They don't call that news any more."
"Ought to've been in the papers, I think."
"Listen. I stopped at the station last night. Took a squint at the
bulletin board. That train was forty-five minutes late. It was on time when we
heard it whistling. Had about eighteen more miles to go. What do you think made
it late? Maybe the engineer got out to pick some buttercups."
"I get it, Steve," laughed Wally. "The loco must have knocked that touring
car galley-west."
"And left no traces of the mug who was in it," added Steve. "They probably
thought the car had been abandoned. Forget that guy, Wally. Nobody will ever
hear of Harry Vincent again."
Steve went to the desk and turned on the little lamp. He consulted a
time-table.
"Eight fifteen now," he said. "There's a train for Cleveland about nine
o'clock. Plenty of time for me to make it. That's where I'm going. You hang
around here a while if you want. Take another look up at the hotel, then clear
out for Philly."
"We'll give up this Meyers proposition, then?"
"Yeah. Wally, I think I've got the wrong dope this time. The guy never
came to Harrisburg before. He couldn't have done it very well and got back to
Cleveland as quick as he used to. This must be a new proposition he's on. But
he would have got back as quick as possible. So I figure he's there now, like I
said. I'll pick up his trail again. I'd like to know why he came here - but
there's no way to find out."
"Well, all I know is he got in at nine thirty and was back at the station
by ten o'clock."
"Maybe he went right out to Cleveland again. There's a train around ten
thirty, I think."
"Guess that's what he did."
Steve Cronin tossed a few articles in the bag.
"I'll run along, Steve," said Wally. "If I see him up at the hotel, I'll
drop over to the station before you leave."
He unlocked the door and went out. Cronin continued packing. Wally had
closed the door, but Steve did not bother to lock it, although he kept his eyes
upon it.
"Feel creepy again," he mumbled. "Guess I'll hop for the station."
He walked to the door. He turned out the light, then noticed that he had
left the desk lamp burning. The room was gloomy and shadowy under the dim
illumination.
He placed one hand on the doorknob. Then he glanced into the nearest
corner - a space alongside the bed. It was quite dark there, and the blackness
seemed to be actually solid.
"Whew," said Steve Cronin aloud. "Look at that shadow! Looks real."
He laughed, but without enjoyment.
"Maybe it is real," he declared. "Hello, shadow! Let's see you wake up!"
His nerve was returning as he uttered the words. But hardly had he
finished speaking before his blood was chilled. His hand became limp upon the
doorknob.
For the blackness at which he gazed began to move. It did not move toward
him. It moved straight upward. It rose like a huge sable specter - a thing that
was living, yet which seemed uncanny in the dimness.
Steve Cronin's fear-glazed eyes distinguished the outline of a black cloak
with a broad-brimmed black hat that seemed to merge with the form beneath. From
between the hat and the cloak glared two eyes that shone like beads of fire!
Then came the voice - a low, ghostly voice; a voice deeper than a whisper.
It was a voice that made Steve Cronin tremble, and its tones were weird and
chilling.
"Steve Cronin," it said, "I am The Shadow. You summoned me, and I am here."
Silence. The crook could not move. The figure remained motionless, yet
real.
"Steve Cronin," said the voice of The Shadow, "I have watched you. Once
before I watched you."
Again a pause, and then the voice:
"One time more will be the last. That is my warning. Three times will mean
your doom."
Steve's eyes were half shut.
"Your doom," repeated the voice.
Still Steve Cronin was powerless. He did not move, even when a long arm
came slowly upward and stretched forward until a black-gloved finger showed
directly in front of the gangster's eyes.
"You have heard my warning," said the voice. Its tones were sinister. "I
seldom give a warning. This is the only one - for you."
There was a sibilant hiss to the voice. Then came a single, emphatic word:
"Go!"
The figure seemed to dwindle as it merged into the darkness. Two burning
spots glowed dull and disappeared. Steve Cronin's limbs gained a sudden
strength of frenzied fear. A low, gasping scream escaped his lips as he yanked
the door open and half flung himself into the hall. A sound followed him from
the room - it was a mirthless, mocking laugh!
He had seen The Shadow! It was real! It had spoken! It had looked at him
with its eyes of fire!
At the stairway Cronin paused in his flight. He steadied himself against
the rail. He set his suitcase on the floor and drew a revolver from his pocket.
With shaking steps he stole softly back along the hall. He waited outside
the open door for an instant, then thrust his hand against the switch, which he
could see in the light from the desk lamp. He was in the room, facing that same
corner, with his gun before him.
The room was empty!
Steve Cronin made a hurried search. Under the bed - in the closet. No one
there. He stopped at the window. The shade was fully two inches higher than it
had been before. He peered out into the darkness. He could see nothing.
The gangster laughed in a relieved way. He reached to turn off the desk
lamp. His hand trembled. A card lay before him. On it, in printed characters,
were the words:
REMEMBER. ONCE MORE WILL MEAN YOUR DOOM.
The revolver nearly fell from Cronin's weakened fingers. With feigned
boldness he managed to thrust it in his pocket. He still stared at the card
with its ominous words. Then suddenly the writing faded. The card was blank!
Steve Cronin rushed from the room. He staggered down the stairs, his
suitcase knocking against the rail. He hailed a cab that was outside the hotel.
His voice quivered as he directed the driver to take him to the station.
Cronin's train pulled out at nine o'clock. Alone in a compartment, the
westward-bound crook sat huddled and unnerved. Steve feared pursuit, even
though he was doing his utmost to escape The Shadow's wrath. Steve wondered
where The Shadow had headed from Harrisburg. He might have guessed the answer
had he left the city by air, instead of by train.
At that same hour - nine o'clock - an airplane took off from the
Harrisburg airport. Its lone occupant was a black-cloaked pilot, whose figure
was almost invisible at the controls of the fleet monoplane.
The ship's course was eastward, heading directly toward New York. As it
roared low over the Pennsylvania countryside, its broad wings glinted in the
moonlight, and cast a wide, spreading, moving shadow on the ground below.
CHAPTER XII
VINCENT TAKES ACTION
IT was eleven o'clock. For three hours Harry Vincent had been watching
from the vacant store across the street from Isaac Coffran's house.
At eight o'clock a man had entered. In accordance with instructions,
Vincent had called on the telephone. A quiet voice had answered him and had
received the information.
Harry had made a second report at nine o'clock, and a third at ten. It was
time for a fourth call, yet he had nothing new to say - simply that the man who
had entered the house had not come out.
Speculation had gripped Harry's mind. He could see Isaac Coffran's house
fairly well, for the street was lighted. The place appeared to be impregnable.
The iron-shuttered windows formed a veritable fortress. He imagined that the
sides and the rear of the house were similarly protected. He would have
supposed that the house was empty had he not seen the man enter.
He was sure that the visitor was Bruce Duncan. He had not had an
opportunity to observe the man closely, but he could tell that he was not over
thirty years of age, and of more than average height and weight.
He picked up the telephone and called the number. While waiting for the
connection, Harry wondered who the person with the quiet voice could be. Some
agent of The Shadow. He doubted that it could be The Shadow himself. The Shadow
might be out of town - perhaps in Harrisburg!
The thought was not encouraging. To-night's adventure might show sudden
developments. It was more than four hours from Harrisburg by the fastest train.
The Shadow, superman that he was, could not be in the capital of Pennsylvania
and in Manhattan at the same time. That might account for the delay in action.
Vincent knew from experience that when danger threatened The Shadow's presence
was invaluable.
Harry also wondered where the person whom he was calling was located.
Probably at some temporary place, which was being used for to-night only.
"Hello." It was the quiet voice coming across the phone.
"Hello," said Harry. "Everything the same."
"Keep watching."
"Wait!"
Harry had seen a man come stealthily up the street. The fellow was outside
the store window now, looking at the house across the street.
"What's up?" asked the methodical voice.
"There's a man outside the window," answered Harry in guarded tones.
"Outside your window?" asked the voice. "Or outside the window of the
house?"
"Outside my window. Right here."
"What does he look like?"
"His back is toward me. Wait. He's turning now. I can see his face. It's a
dark face. He looks like a Hindu."
"What's he doing now?"
"Sneaking across the street. He's trying the front door of the house."
"Keep watching him."
"I am watching him. He's back in the street. He's looking up at the house.
Evidently he sees he can't get in. Now he's going around to the right side."
"What's he doing there?"
"I can't see. The house is a trifle down the street."
"Tell me immediately if he comes back."
There was a lapse of fully two minutes. Then Vincent saw the Hindu
reappear in front of the house.
"He's back," he said in the phone.
"Keep watching," ordered the voice.
"Right. He's looking at the front of the house, just above the sidewalk.
He must have found cellar windows on the side. There are none here in front.
Now he's going to the left side of the house."
"Can you see him there?"
"Just barely. He's in an alley - a narrow alley - and it's dark. I can
just make out his outline. He's stooping now. Trying the windows. He won't have
any luck; this house is certainly heavily barred. Ah!"
"What is it?"
"He must have found a loose fastening. He's working on a window. About
halfway back. I can just see him."
"Don't lose sight of him."
"I won't. He seems to be working harder. Now he's stopped. He's trying to
push himself into something. He's flat on the ground. There he goes!
Feet-first! He's in - completely in!"
"Wait one minute. Tell me if he reappears."
HARRY remained silent, his eyes glued on the spot where the Hindu had
disappeared into the side of the building. He could detect no motion.
"Has he returned?" questioned the voice.
"No," answered Harry. "I'm sure he has gained an entrance."
"It is time for you to act," said the quiet tones. "Until to-night it has
seemed impossible to effect an entrance into that building. Now it has been
done by some one else."
"Shall I enter the way the Hindu went?"
"Yes. But be cautious. Listen to my instructions."
Harry was intent.
"In the table drawer," said the person at the other end of the wire, "you
will find three articles. A piece of chalk. A small flashlight. An automatic
pistol, fully loaded.
"When you leave the store, make a chalk mark on the door. Put a tiny arrow
on the sidewalk pointing across the street. Mark your path to the spot where you
enter.
"Once in the house, your chief duty will be to find Bruce Duncan, the
young man who entered at eight o'clock. Mark your path as you go through the
house.
"Use the flashlight as little as possible. Use the automatic only in case
of necessity. I can give you no more advice. The rest is up to you."
Harry waited, but the monotonous voice did not continue. He was about to
speak when he heard the click of the receiver at the other end of the line. He
opened the table drawer. Groping in the dark, he found the articles mentioned.
He made his way cautiously to the street; there he placed the first chalk mark
on the door.
The fresh air added new vigor to Harry Vincent. The time for action had
arrived! He was on the verge of a mysterious adventure. His mind dwelt on the
thoughts of what lay ahead as he went stealthily toward the house, making his
chalk marks as he moved along.
The Hindu had pried open a hinged iron shutter. Harry discovered this
after a quick examination which did not require the flashlight. Inside the
shutter was an iron grating. This must also have been loose, for it was swung
inward.
The flashlight made a circle on the floor of the cellar as Harry pressed
the button of the tiny instrument. It was a dark, gloomy cellar, that seemed to
fade away in endless depths. The Hindu had entered in the darkness. Harry did
likewise.
His feet clicked as they struck the stone floor. Blindly, Harry Vincent
moved forward; as he did, he sensed that something was taking place beyond him.
He fancied that he heard a sound some distance away.
CHAPTER XIII
THE ENEMY REVEALED
THE stack of letters had dwindled by half during Bruce Duncan's reading.
Bruce stopped for a moment's rest, and rubbed his eyes. Then he moved the last
letter that he had perused, noting the sizes of the two heaps. Those that he
had read were on the right; the unread letters were at the left edge of the
desk.
Bruce had not neglected to read a single word. It had been an interesting
task, this exploration into the adventurous life of his uncle. The letters had
been mailed from many parts of the world, and they went into great detail over
many matters.
Never before had Bruce Duncan realized the amazing features of his uncle's
career. Remarkable facts and strange experiences were recounted in a simple,
matter-of-fact manner. It seemed surprising that Isaac Coffran had been unable
to recollect the contents of these letters.
Duncan resumed his reading. He had not yet reached the portion of his
uncle's life that dealt with Russia. Still, he had felt it wise to follow Isaac
Coffran's advice and read all of the letters. There might be some slight clue in
the early ones that would help later on.
Furthermore, he was gaining a valuable insight into his uncle's methods
and purposes. This, he felt, was preparing him for discoveries that might come
later on. The mere mention of a prominent Russian name might be the very thread
of circumstance he sought!
He completed another letter. He felt a bit tired. How long had he been
reading? It seemed scarcely more than an hour - more probably it was two or
three. He was about to glance at his watch when he thought of Isaac Coffran's
suggestion to forget time.
Rising from his chair, Duncan felt a sudden return of exhilaration. It
surprised him. He realized that the air had become a bit stuffy, yet it seemed
like a complete change now. He walked around the room. He stopped by the door,
but did not try to open it. He looked at the button beside the desk. Well, he
could summon Pedro if he wished. That might be a good idea, but he would read a
few more letters first.
He sat at the desk. He seemed suddenly weary and out of breath. As he
reached to the pile of letters at the left, he accidentally knocked them to the
floor - all but one letter, the last of the group. Duncan picked it up and
reached for the others.
As he stooped to the floor, a sudden feeling of nausea came over him. He
seized the letters and as he held them, he began to choke. His throat seemed to
form a solid lump.
It required a moment for him to recover after he regained his sitting
position. He had picked up the loose letters hurriedly. In so doing he had
added the final letter to the top of the pile. He was not aware of the fact,
for he was fighting against an attack of temporary dizziness.
DUNCAN closed his eyes, and his senses returned. Mechanically he opened
the letter that lay on top of the heap at the left. He began to read it,
wearily, without actually noting the words. Then a sudden difference in the
appearance of the note attracted his attention.
All of the previous letters had borne the introduction, "My dear Isaac."
This one began with the simple statement, "Sir." Concentrating, Duncan followed
each word. The task seemed laborious, his senses had become dulled. But even in
his lethargic mental state, the full meaning of his uncle's writing burned
itself into his mind with startling revelation. The letter read:
This is the end. For many years I have been a trusting fool. I believed in
your friendship. I told you much. Now I know you for what you are - a fiend - a
fiend that has assumed a human form!
You have used the information that I have given you to prey upon helpless
people. You have sought to injure me, but without avail. I know now why I was
attacked in Singapore. I have found out the source of the plot upon my life in
Russia. I thought the Reds were back of it. But you were the man who caused it!
You have covered your tracks well. Only the man who tried to murder me in
France could testify against you. He died beside me during an attack on the
German trenches. He told me all, with his last breath. So you are safe.
But your schemes can no longer reach me. I am on my guard. The secret that
you seek will never be yours. I shall reveal it on my deathbed, and the one who
hears it will be warned against you. No inkling of you and your evilness will
ever appear in anything I write. I am too wise to trust such statements to
paper. But my own words will tell -
The letter fell from Bruce Duncan's hand. He had reached the end of the
first page. He had learned all he needed.
Isaac Coffran was his uncle's enemy! The old man who had appeared so
friendly had gained the secret after all. It was his messenger who had stolen
the package and the envelopes!
Rising, Duncan felt that former feeling of exhilaration. His mind,
suddenly responsive, grasped the details of what had happened.
Some one had visited his uncle. In his delirium, the dying man had fancied
that Bruce had come at last. He had revealed the message which he had intended
for his nephew.
It could not have been Coffran. Even at the point of death, Uncle Harvey
would have recognized his enemy. It could not have been the ape-faced man. It
must have been a third person - an agent of Coffran's. It did not matter who it
had been. The vital fact was that the secret had been learned.
While he, Bruce Duncan, had been ignorant of his uncle's enmity toward
Isaac Coffran, there had been no need for murder. But now, since Bruce had
admitted that he intended to detect the thief, he had become a menace.
He seized the letter and turned to the second page. He followed the
denunciation that his uncle had written from the point where he had left off.
- the man who will continue to keep my trust.
When your name is mentioned, he will be warned against another - your
companion in crime, Bernardo Chefano - whose twisted lips will reveal his
identity, no matter what disguise or alias he may employ.
Chefano is clever, but you are cunning. Yet I defy you both and I -
Dizziness was seizing Duncan. He had taken the chair again. He rose to his
feet and gasped. The letter fluttered to the floor. Bending slowly forward,
Duncan lowered his head inch by inch. Gradually he felt the sensation of
weakness returning.
He rushed to the door. It was locked. Then he stood motionless, his mind
alternating between fear and anger.
The room was a death trap! Locked in this small compartment, he was to be
the victim of Isaac Coffran's fiendish methods. That was cruelly plain.
From somewhere - from hidden spots about the room, a slow, deadly poison
gas was entering the compartment. It must be akin to carbon monoxide - a vapor
that could not be sensed by smell. Heavier than air, it was creeping upward
from the floor, gradually overcoming him.
The last letter that revealed the true Isaac Coffran would never have been
reached by Bruce Duncan.
It was intended that he should die before he knew the truth. Now he had
learned it. But to what avail? He could cry for help; he could batter against
the solid door. These efforts would all be futile; they would add to the misery
of death.
He went to the desk and pressed the button. He waited. There was no
response. Of course not. Isaac Coffran had probably received the signal and was
gloating.
The air was stifling. Life, Bruce realized, was a matter of short
duration, now. He might prolong it by standing upon a chair, with his head
against the low ceiling. That would mean twenty minutes more, perhaps half an
hour.
The little alcove attracted his attention. There was a button beside it -
perhaps another signal. He staggered across the room and pressed the button.
There was no result.
Should he lie on the floor and die? It might be best, he thought, but the
ordeal was hard to face. No, he would defy Isaac Coffran to the last moment. He
stood upon the chair and braced himself against the wall.
The relief was not great. Duncan fancied he could hear the insidious gas
hissing into the death chamber. Perhaps it was coming more rapidly now;
possibly his imagination was ruling him.
He looked at his watch. Quarter past eleven. The room was beginning to
whirl, so it seemed. He was losing his balance. In another minute, he would
topple from his place of temporary security, and all would be over.
A sharp click came from across the room. He looked toward the oddly shaped
nook in the corner. His eyes stared in sudden fascination. Was it fancy? No, it
was reality! The corner section of the room, with its narrow opening, was
slowly descending. Following it, from the ceiling, was emerging a sheet of
solid wall.
For the fraction of a second, Bruce Duncan hesitated. In that
infinitesimal space of time, a rush of conflicting thoughts filled his brain.
Another trap! No trap could be worse than this. A terrible death! All death was
terrible. A chance for life! It was a hope at least.
He plunged from the chair, holding his breath as he fell to the floor. As
in a nightmare, in which muscles fail in their task, he fought his way across
the room. The descending compartment was more than halfway down, yet he crawled
through the breach, then slumped in a heap, completely inside the
downward-moving alcove.
His smarting eyes caught one last glimpse of the gas-filled room. Then the
opening was closed. He was in total darkness - a terrible darkness that seemed
to smother him for an instant.
He opened his mouth and gasped; he breathed deeply. Through his nostrils
came the reviving tonic of sweet air that brought relief to his bursting lungs.
CHAPTER XIV
A NEW MENACE
IT was a long trip down. The slow, regular movement of the floor beneath
him became a relief to Bruce Duncan. He realized that he was in a small
elevator between walls of solid masonry. Perhaps he was going to a new ordeal.
But future fear could not overcome the present hope that he had gained in
escaping from the poisoned atmosphere above.
The darkness continued for a while. Then a crack of light appeared by the
floor. It seemed to rise slowly upward as though it were a curtain of
illumination. Bruce realized that he had reached the bottom of the elevator
shaft.
The light came from a large flashlight that was pointed in his direction.
As the brilliance moved up and down under the control of the man who held it,
Duncan fancied that he could make out the form of the person behind it.
Some inquisitor, he supposed. Isaac Coffran or his henchman, Pedro,
waiting to seize him. He felt helpless; the gas that he had inhaled had left
him weak.
The little elevator stopped. Looking upward, Duncan realized that he had
reached a low-vaulted room in the cellar of the building. Then a hand gripped
him. He was dragged forth to the floor.
The man was bending over him; the flashlight moved upward. From its new
position, it revealed the other person. A gasp of relief escaped Bruce Duncan's
lips as he recognized the dark anxious face above him.
"Abdul!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, sahib," affirmed the Hindu, in his quiet voice.
"How did you come here?" questioned Bruce, as he sat upon the floor. "How
did you find me?"
"I shall tell you later, burra sahib," replied Abdul. "Let us first leave
this place of danger."
Duncan tried to rise to his feet. He sank back, momentarily exhausted. His
eyes followed the glare of the Hindu's flashlight as it swept about them.
They were in a narrow, low-roofed passage, which terminated in the
elevator at one end, and in an arched opening at the other. The Hindu's light
was focused on the exit.
"Through there I came," said Abdul. "There we shall go. It is safe there,
sahib."
He extended one arm. Bruce Duncan steadied himself and rose with the
Hindu's aid. Together they started slowly toward the opening that led to safety.
Just as they reached the low arch, Duncan faltered. As he paused, Abdul
stood still beside him. The wait was only a brief second, but before Duncan had
advanced another step, some huge device dropped into the glare of the light.
There was a swish of cold air, followed by a sharp clang. Two feet in front of
the men appeared a solid wall.
Duncan reached out and pressed his hand against hard metal.
"A curtain of steel!" he exclaimed. "A solid sheet of metal! It would have
struck us, Abdul, if we had not stopped."
"It has closed our way to safety," replied the Hindu, in his even voice.
"We are trapped, burra sahib."
Duncan's rescuer turned the flashlight in all directions. Only the
elevator remained as a means of exit. The walls of the room were solid and
close together; the steel curtain filled the archway completely. Not even a
crack was visible.
There was a click. The elevator began to move slowly upward, a solid wall
following from below. It was an ingenious device - part of the room on the
second floor of this chamber in the cellar. Going, it left no trace of its
existence.
Abdul held the light toward the rising lift.
"Shall we go there, sahib?" he asked.
"No!" exclaimed Duncan. "It leads to death, Abdul. I escaped from a room
filled with gas."
"There is no safety here," said the Hindu simply.
"I know that," admitted Duncan. "But it is better than that den I left."
The elevator was gone. A blank, solid wall had taken its place.
Duncan sat on the floor.
"We can do nothing, Abdul," he said. "We must wait. That is all."
With the patience characteristic of his race, the Hindu squatted on the
floor beside his master. He turned out the light, and they listened in darkness.
Finally, Bruce Duncan spoke softly.
"Abdul," he said, "why did you come here? How did you manage to rescue me?"
"Burra sahib," said the Hindu, "I suspected evil from the old man last
night."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"It is not right that I should interfere with what burra sahib may choose
to do. But after you have gone away tonight, some voice seems to tell me that
Duncan sahib will be in danger. I have the name and address of this old man,
sahib. I come here. I see the house dark. I enter. I find this place."
"But the elevator, Abdul. How did you operate that?"
In answer the Hindu turned on the light. He pointed it to the blank wall,
then above. On the ceiling, Duncan saw a small button. He doubted that he would
have seen it had it not been indicated for him.
"I could reach to there," explained Abdul. "I know that button means
something. My eyes are good, sahib. When I see that, I know it has some use. So
I press. Down comes the little room - with you, burra sahib."
The Hindu turned off the light.
"Well, Abdul," said Duncan, in the darkness, "you have saved my life.
Above here is a room - a room in which I sat, not suspecting that Isaac Coffran
was my enemy. The room gradually filled with a poisonous vapor. I pressed a
button up there, but it served no purpose, for the elevator was up.
"I can understand the use for the elevator. The old man would have placed
my body in it. From here, in the basement, he would have brought down the
elevator. An easy, simple way to remove a murdered person."
He rose and groped toward the wall ahead.
"Turn on the light, Abdul," he said.
The Hindu complied. At that instant a cry came from Bruce Duncan. The
floor caved beneath him. He dropped downward, but his course was halted by the
alert Hindu. The man had dropped the light, and his hands had caught Duncan
underneath the arms, just as he was disappearing into the depths below.
AS soon as Abdul had drawn his master to safety the opening in the floor
swung upward. It was a hinged device by the wall below the elevator. Its
springs made it close so tightly that even under the inspection of the
flashlight the cracks seemed hardly noticeable.
"Another danger!" exclaimed Duncan. "My uncle was right. I read his
letters, Abdul, in the room upstairs. He said that Isaac Coffran was a fiend!
"I understand it all, now. He murders a man by gas, in the upstairs room.
The body is brought down the lift. It is drawn to the floor, the trap is
released and down goes the victim!
"He has discovered my escape, Abdul. He knows that some one has helped me.
From some room upstairs he operates his hidden mechanisms. He dropped the
curtain of steel. He brought the elevator up again. He released the catches
that hold the trap, hoping that one or both of us might fall into some pit
below. He has us here, at his mercy. What will he do next?"
"We must wait to see, burra sahib," said the Hindu quietly.
Duncan moved cautiously to the steel curtain. He tapped against it with a
key. The click seemed loud in the darkness.
There was an answering sound - a faint echo of the click. Yet it brought a
sudden hope to Bruce Duncan. He stepped closer and tapped three times. Three
clicks replied.
Using the International code, Duncan slowly spelled out a single word:
"Help."
The reply came: "Who are you?"
"It may be a friend, Abdul," exclaimed Duncan in a low tone. "He wants to
know who is here."
"Name Duncan," he replied in code.
"Will help," was the answer.
"Tell him, 'Quick,'" came the voice of Abdul, close by Duncan's ear.
"Quick," tapped Bruce.
The first faint clicks of a reply came from the steel curtain. Then they
ceased.
"He's gone," murmured Duncan.
"Perhaps to help us quickly," answered Abdul. "Listen, burra sahib. I have
heard a new noise."
Duncan heard it. He had not noticed it while listening to the clicking
sound from the steel barrier. But it attracted his attention now. It was a
deep, dull thumping - an ominous, thudding sound that seemed to come from the
side walls of their prison.
"Look!" exclaimed Abdul.
Duncan's eyes followed the glare of the flashlight to one side wall of the
room. Slowly, inch by inch, the wall was moving toward him. Its speed was
sluggish, but constant.
"It brings death, burra sahib," said the Hindu.
"We must escape," replied Duncan. "But how?"
"We must wait, sahib. Wait until that one beyond the closed way helps."
"Push the button for the elevator. Maybe the room upstairs is free from
gas."
"I cannot reach it, sahib. It is above the trap, which is now made so I
shall fall."
"That's one way out," observed Duncan grimly. "Drop through the hole.
Better than being crushed to death. But we'll wait to the last second, Abdul."
He tapped vainly against the steel curtain. There was no reply. Had the
mysterious friend been trapped, also? Perhaps he had gone for more help.
Perhaps it had been Isaac Coffran, tantalizing his victims with vain hope of
possible escape.
The Hindu still held the flashlight toward the side wall of the room. The
crushing barrier was coming closer - slowly but certainly. There might be
twenty minutes now left them. Perhaps only fifteen. Duncan's mind was unable to
calculate.
Abdul was leaning against the other side wall of the compartment. Bruce
Duncan joined him. Together they watched that ever-approaching instrument of
destruction.
Thump - thump - thump -
"A few minutes more," murmured Duncan. "A few minutes more, and we can
only wait. Wait and hope."
This was more terrible than the gas-filled room above. There death had
crept upon him almost unknown; here it was announcing its approach.
The young man and his Hindu servant stood silently side by side. Neither
spoke. Both stared rigidly before them, calm yet fascinated by that huge moving
surface.
Thump - thump - thump - thump -
The wall was coming closer - closer - closer.
CHAPTER XV
BEYOND THE BARRIER
IT was Harry Vincent who had answered Bruce Duncan's plea for help. As he
had heard the last clicks of the code, he had realized that the situation must
be desperate.
He had found this steel curtain in the darkness. His flashlight had shown
that it was a barrier he could not pass. Then had come the taps to which he had
replied.
He seemed to hear a dull thumping on the other side of the metal curtain.
What did it signify? Perhaps the man behind the barrier would tell. Yet Harry
realized that time must be short. He had found Bruce Duncan. It was his duty to
aid the man. How could he help by standing there?
It would be best, he thought, to listen for a few minutes. Perhaps the
coded clicks would give him some suggestion that might enable him to rescue the
man whom he had come to save. But as he swept the flashlight along the side of
the cellar, he understood the situation. It was not a wall that lay between him
and Bruce Duncan - it was a curtain of steel that could evidently be raised from
above.
As he turned to start a search for stairs to the house above, he heard a
sound to one side. He wheeled quickly; as he did, a light filled the room.
Plunging upon him was a huge man. Vincent caught the glint of a knife - a
machete. He saw a leering face, with a scarred cheek. He turned to escape the
enemy, and swung his automatic toward him.
His wrist was seized before he could press the trigger. The pistol fell
upon the floor. But though Harry lost his weapon, he managed to escape the
thrust of the machete. Quick as a flash he caught the man's right wrist and
prevented him from bringing the knife into play.
They struggled silently. The huge man with the ugly face was powerful, yet
The Shadow's agent had the strength to resist him. As their arms locked and they
stood straining yet almost motionless, Harry realized that he had been
discovered in the dark, and that the man had pressed a light switch which
illuminated this part of the cellar.
Harry's fierce opponent was a leering, scar-faced brute. Harry, faced by
the man's dark visage, took the fellow for a Mexican; a logical guess since the
man had first attacked with a machete. Harry battled madly; but he knew from the
start that he was waging conflict with an enemy whose strength was far greater
than his own.
THE odds were in favor of the attacker. He had nearly caught Harry
unaware; he intended to weaken his antagonist. Every second that went by
postponed all effort to rescue the imprisoned Bruce Duncan.
Harry realized this. He made a sudden twist. Taking advantage of a slip on
the part of his opponent, he eluded the man's grasp and was free. He dashed
madly across the cellar toward the opening through which he had come. There he
stopped in consternation.
The Mexican, in coming through the cellar, had evidently seen the dim
light of the opened window. This part of the cellar was quite dark, away from
the illumination farther back. Still, Harry could see that the grating had been
closed and fastened.
There was only an instant to take in these facts. The lead that Harry had
gained might have been sufficient for him to scramble through had the grating
been open. Outside, he might have summoned help. Now, at bay, he turned to meet
the onrush of the big man whose machete was raised above his head.
Harry grabbed the fellow's arm and locked in furious struggle. His only
hope was to overpower the man now. He was fierce in his attack and he swung the
huge Mexican around toward the wall near the grating.
He had gripped the wrist of the hand that held the knife, but in his
eagerness Harry lost his clutch on the other wrist. The fellow's left hand
pressed against Harry's face and pushed him backward. Harry's arms were pinned
in a powerful grasp. The Shadow's agent was suddenly rendered helpless.
In the dimness he saw the outline of the snarling, jeering face. The hand
with the machete was free. It poised above him, the weapon pointed toward his
chest.
"Hah-hah-hah!" the Mexican's voice panted as he sneered at Vincent. "You
think you can fight Pedro? Hah-hah-hah! You see this?"
The machete wriggled in Pedro's hand. It quivered for the death thrust.
The big man's back was against the wall, near the grating. Harry could see the
closed bars behind him.
The knife trembled as it began its downward swing.
Then, with startling suddenness, an arm shot through the grating behind
the Mexican. A black-gloved hand caught Pedro's descending wrist. The huge
man's powerful swing was plucked in mid-air. Harry saw a look of distorted
amazement come over Pedro. The man released him suddenly. Harry fell to the
floor, and his head thumped against the stone.
Though slightly dazed, he could still see what was happening. That single
hand which gripped Pedro's wrist possessed superhuman power, for it was
twisting the huge Mexican back and forth as though he had been made of straw.
Another thin-gloved hand came through the bars. There was a quick
movement, and Pedro was hurled headlong. The machete shot from his hand and
clanged on the cellar floor. The big Mexican lay still.
A click and the grating opened. Those hands had pried open the fastening
in a twinkling. The bars swung inward. A black figure slipped into the cellar
and stood over Harry Vincent, looming like a mammoth bat-winged creature.
It bent forward, and Harry believed that he saw two bright eyes in the
depths of the black shape. An exclamation came to his parched lips.
"The Shadow!"
A strange, almost mystic whisper came from the figure that hovered above
him.
"Where is Duncan?"
"At the other end of the cellar. Behind a steel barrier."
"In danger?"
"Yes."
"Rest yourself for a minute. Wait until I have gone. Then go there to help
him."
The Shadow moved away. Harry could see the back of the strange figure in
the cloak as it seemed to blot out the motionless form of Pedro. A flashlight
was turned on; it was set on the floor. As Harry leaned against the wall, he
could see the face of the unconscious Mexican, in the center of the ring of
light.
The Shadow was bending over Pedro. Some quick action was indicated by the
trembling of the long black cloak. Harry could not see The Shadow's face, but
it appeared as though the man was studying the features of the brute on the
floor.
Pedro's body moved as The Shadow seemed to tug at it. Something was
happening - rapidly. A full minute elapsed, then came a surprising result that
made Harry rub his eyes and gasp with astonishment.
The light was lifted from the floor. It shone on a mirror that was held by
a hand. With a single motion, the black cloak and hat were lifted upward, then
they fell to the floor. A face was revealed in the circle of light. It was the
face of Pedro the Mexican!
As the standing figure turned, Vincent could see the features plainly.
They were the perfect replica of Pedro's countenance. Even the scar on the
cheek appeared in livid vividness.
The lips moved. They showed a sneer. It was an exact representation of the
triumphant expression which the Mexican had revealed when he had poised the
machete above Vincent's breast.
The real Pedro lay on the floor, but above him stood his exact duplicate!
It seemed incredible - impossible - yet it was actuality!
For one brief instant the face of the false Pedro changed its expression.
Then the sneer reappeared. The light was out; the standing figure was gone.
As Harry Vincent rose to his feet and steadied himself against the wall, a
weird, unforgettable sound echoed through the vaulted basement.
It was the sound of a laugh - a whispered laugh a mocking laugh that
brought a sudden throbbing to Harry Vincent's temples.
It was the laugh of The Shadow!
CHAPTER XVI
THE OLD MAN'S STRATEGY
ISAAC COFFRAN was standing in the center of the front room on the second
story. He was facing the curtained doorway, but his eyes were on the floor. A
cunning smile was on his lips. He was gloating and triumphant. His hands were
behind his back; his pose was one of enjoyable anticipation.
A shadow moved across the floor and extended toward the old man. Isaac
Coffran raised his head quickly. He grinned as he saw the leering face of
Pedro. The Mexican had parted the curtains and was standing in the doorway. His
left hand held the machete; his right arm supported a black bundle.
"Well?" questioned Isaac Coffran.
Pedro's lips parted in an ugly snarl of mirth. The big man tossed the
machete on a chair and placed the bundle on top of it.
"Did you find the man in the cellar?" asked Isaac Coffran.
"Si, senor," replied Pedro. "Yes."
"Ah!" exclaimed the old man. "I am glad I sent you down. I thought perhaps
the rescuer had slipped out before the curtain closed. Where was Duncan - the
young man? In the closing room?"
"I think so."
"He couldn't have escaped. He was too exhausted by the gas. Well, he has
five minutes more to wait. What did you do to the other man?"
Pedro pointed to the chair.
"There is his hat, senor," he said. "There is his coat. Pedro can use the
machete well. Very well."
The old man chuckled.
"You are useful, Pedro," he said. "But these are useful, too. He pointed
to a row of buttons and lights above a table by the door. One by one he
indicated them.
"Here," he chortled, "is the gas button. That was first. The second was
this light - when Duncan rang from the study. Then this light showed that some
one within the cellar had brought down the elevator. How did the man get in?
Through a loosely fastened window?"
"Yes."
"Careless of you, Pedro. We must attend to that. But look. I pressed this
button. Up came the elevator. This button - down came the steel curtain. Here I
released the trap - perhaps the young man has fallen in it. We shall see later.
Then" - the old man's face gleamed with fiendish malice - "the last button. The
wall is closing. Slowly closing. Soon it will be ended. Listen!"
A faint, distant thumping could be heard from the depths of the house.
"The machete is useful, Pedro," observed the old man. "Quick work - no
noise. We will drop that body through the trap, too."
He looked at the Mexican quizzically.
Pedro grinned.
"You look different than usual," said Isaac Coffran. "You must have had
some trouble, Pedro. Your scar is a trifle redder than I have ever seen it
before. You must have given way to excitement! I never knew you to do that
before."
The old man wheeled and faced a clock that hung on the wall opposite the
door. Staring toward the dial, he became oblivious to Pedro's presence.
Venomously, Isaac Coffran announced the moments that remained.
"Three minutes more," he sneered. "No! Two minutes. The crushing is about
to commence. This period is always enjoyable to me. That last minute, when the
wall closes over the few remaining feet. The victim is at his last moment of
helplessness. This is a rare pleasure, Pedro. I hope you enjoy it as much as I."
He paused, listening, while he stared at the clock.
"Can I be wrong?" he asked. "Impossible! Yet the mechanism has stopped! I
can't hear its thumping beats. Can you, Pedro? No. I can't be wrong. There is
more than a minute to go! I test it every week, Pedro. It is timed exactly!"
THERE was no response from the door. Isaac Coffran did not turn. He still
watched the clock.
"I wonder if it stopped," he muttered. "I must investigate. Perhaps the
body was stretched toward the wall. That must be it. Young Duncan was half
unconscious. He may have lain where the other dragged him. A lengthwise body
would crush slowly. It might stop the wall - yet the mechanism should still go
on, at that!"
The old man swung toward the table. He saw the buttons above it and a
startled cry came from him.
There had been little yellow lights over the two buttons which he had last
indicated - the button that released the steel curtain and the button that
operated the moving wall. Both of these lights were out. Some one had pressed
the buttons!
"Pedro!" exclaimed the old man.
He looked up at the curtained doorway. The Mexican was gone. In his place
stood a strange, silent figure - a man wearing a black cloak and hat, the same
garments that Pedro had brought upstairs. The cloak seemed to envelop a
shapeless form; the hat had a broad brim that obscured the face of the bent
head. Isaac Coffran thought that he could glimpse two eyes between the hat and
cloak.
The fiendish old man stood staring, at the form in the doorway. He still
held his hands behind his back. No sign of fear appeared upon his features. His
smooth, parchmentlike face was calm and undisturbed.
"Well," said Isaac Coffran. "Who may you be?"
A sinister, whispering voice emerged from the shape in the doorway. It was
a voice that would have chilled the blood of a brave, virile man. But old Isaac
Coffran's withered veins did not quiver.
"I?" asked the voice. "I am The Shadow!"
Isaac Coffran's eyes dropped to the floor. The shadow that appeared there
seemed to be an extension of the form in the doorway. It was a huge, black
shadow. It merged with the figure as the old man turned his head slowly upward.
"The Shadow!" said Isaac Coffran, in a sneering tone. "I have heard of
you. Perhaps you have heard of me?"
"I have," replied the cold, relentless voice.
"Perhaps you know a bit about me. Perhaps you would like to know more. You
have come to the right place to find out. What people learn here, they remember
as long as they live. Unfortunately they never live long after that. Strange,
isn't it?"
The Shadow was silent. The form seemed to project from the half-drawn
curtain against which it stood.
"Those buttons on the wall," observed Isaac Coffran. "Perhaps you pressed
them?"
"I pressed them."
"That interests me. On that account, you shall die. I understand now why
Pedro looked different. You were Pedro. You have learned much here. You shall
forget it all - within an hour. Perhaps within a minute. You shall die, because
I do not wish you to live. You are dangerous, alive. You will be helpless,
incapable of annoying me, when you are dead."
The old man scanned the figure as if to discover the effect of his words.
"Isaac Coffran." The whispered voice, though low, had penetrating volume.
Its words seemed to take shape as they were uttered, as though they were living
things. "Isaac Coffran, I shall not die. You would die, if I commanded it. But
dead, you would be useless to me. Alive, you may prove useful. So live. But
remember" - the voice was solemn and slow - "you live only because I choose to
be indulgent."
THE old man moved a step nearer as The Shadow finished speaking. Suddenly
he swung his right hand from behind his back. The motion was marvelously quick.
The hand held a small revolver. The finger was on the trigger. The gun
covered the silent form by the curtain. Isaac Coffran's keen, beady eyes were
searching as they watched the figure of The Shadow.
"One motion on your part," threatened the old man, "will mean instant
death. My hand is firm, but the slightest quiver of the finger will discharge
the contents of this weapon. Stand where you are."
The black form trembled slightly, but the old man did not press the
trigger. Instead he smiled and chuckled. He had expected that. This fearless
Shadow could yield to fear after all. Isaac Coffran moved a step nearer.
"The Shadow!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "The man whose face has never
been seen. The strange creature of the night, that comes and goes invisibly -
that is here and there at once!"
He fancied that the figure shook again. It slumped slightly, its black hat
tilting forward, the edges of the cloak sagging as though the being within had
lost his proud posture.
The old man was close now. His revolver was pressed against The Shadow's
cloak; his face was grinning triumphantly.
"Die!" he cried. "Die, Shadow! And before you perish, I shall see your
mysterious face!"
Isaac Coffran's left hand shot forward and seized the broad brim of the
black hat. The right forefinger pressed the trigger of the gun, and the
automatic spat its bullets through the cloak. As the old man swept the hat
away, the lower garment fell to the floor and collapsed into a small mass of
cloth.
Isaac Coffran almost staggered. The revolver slipped from his nerveless
fingers. He had shot into nothingness. There was no one in the cloak; the
removal of the hat had revealed no head and face!
The figure had been standing between the half-opened curtains. Two
gleaming pins revealed the ruse. The slump in the figure had not been caused by
fear. It had been the exit of the real Shadow - the man within. Only the vacant
shell - a cloak and hat - had remained to receive the bullets from Isaac
Coffran's weapon. When the hat had been swept away, the cloak had fallen.
The Shadow had gone, and Isaac Coffran stood in the hall, fuming with rage
and anger. His lips spat oaths of disappointment.
Then came a sound from the floor below; it was a long, tantalizing sound.
A quivering laugh came up the stairs - a taunting, sardonic laugh. It was
jeering, maddening to the ears of the old man above. The laugh came again -
farther away; then a third time, fading in the distance.
Trembling with rage, the old man still stood in the upstairs hallway,
shaking his fist in wrath. The air seemed to quiver with the echoes of The
Shadow's laugh.
Back in his room the old man seized the black garments and flung them
against the wall. He stamped upon them in sudden rage. Then he became suddenly
calm. He had held The Shadow and had lost him. Well, they would meet again.
Grimness was expressed upon Isaac Coffran's evil countenance as he drew
another revolver from the table drawer and started downstairs to find the
missing Pedro.
CHAPTER XVII
MEN MARKED TO DIE
WHILE Isaac Coffran had been watching the clock upstairs, the two men in
the chamber of death had been witnessing the final approach of the wall that
was designed to crush them.
Bruce Duncan's eyes had become glassy. He was standing nearer to the
archway than Abdul, the Hindu. His back was against the wall behind him; his
arms were outstretched. He had felt certain that it must be too late for rescue.
Only a few inches had intervened between his body and that moving surface.
The air was stifling. Then, at the moment when death seemed imminent, a feeling
of faintness had come over Duncan. Mercifully, consciousness had faded from him.
The dark-faced Hindu had glanced stolidly at Duncan. Abdul was accepting
death. Yet he had thrown his arm between his master and the moving wall. The
solid surface pressed against his wrist and forced it toward Duncan's body. The
Hindu realized that he could not withdraw his arm.
The thumping of the machinery had drummed into Abdul's thoughts. Then
suddenly it had ceased. The pressure against his wrist remained the same. The
Hindu stared in front of him. The wall was no longer moving!
Then came a grating sound, followed by a rush of cool fresh air. The steel
curtain raised. The two men in the death chamber were revealed in the spot of a
flashlight.
"Bruce Duncan?" came a voice. "Are you alive?"
"He is alive," replied Abdul.
The Hindu pressed his arm firmly against his master's body and managed to
draw it free. There was not sufficient space for him to turn sideways, but he
managed to force Duncan's form toward the archway where the steel curtain had
been.
A pair of strong arms assisted him from the outside. A few seconds later
Bruce Duncan was lying on the floor of the cellar. Abdul edged out of the
narrow crevice and approached the man who held the flashlight.
"I am a friend," the man whispered. "My name is Harry Vincent. I saw you
enter the cellar. I came to help. We must get Duncan out immediately."
He lifted the feet of the prostrate man. Abdul bore Duncan's head and
shoulders. With Vincent's flashlight blazing the trail ahead, they carried
their burden toward the open grating, passing the prone form of Pedro on the
way.
"Who is that?" asked Abdul.
"Pedro," replied Harry. "An enemy. We can leave him where he is."
It required two or three minutes to force Duncan's body through the
opening in the side of the house. When Harry and Abdul had brought him to
safety, the young man came to a state of semiconsciousness. This enabled them
to help Duncan walk, one supporting him on each side.
Harry left Abdul with Duncan at the side alley and hurried to the corner
where he found an empty taxicab.
He returned for the others. Duncan seemed fairly well roused. But he
slumped in a corner of the cab. Harry glanced from the window as they went by
Isaac Coffran's house and he blinked for a moment as he noticed the front door.
It seemed to be closing. On the steps was a shadowy form that seemed to flit
toward the sidewalk as they rolled along.
Harry told the driver to take them to the Metrolite Hotel. Abdul offered
no objection.
BRUCE DUNCAN was conscious but bewildered when they reached their
destination. Harry and Abdul took him upstairs and put him to bed, in Harry's
room. Then Harry called the desk and arranged for an adjoining room. He slept
there, leaving Abdul with his master. The Hindu sat in a chair and dozed
comfortably.
When morning arrived, Harry went to interview the man whom he had rescued.
He was admitted to the room by Abdul. Bruce Duncan was sitting up in bed. His
face looked weary; but Bruce managed a smile as he extended his hand to Harry
Vincent.
"Abdul has told me what you did to help us," he said. "I don't know how
you came into the picture. But you were certainly a friend in need. How did you
manage it?"
Harry Vincent smiled.
"I only managed a very little of it," he replied. "I may be able to tell
you more later. I'm anxious to get your story. But let's have breakfast first."
While Harry was calling downstairs, Abdul spoke to his master.
"I shall leave you, burra sahib," he said in a knowing tone. "This other
man - Vincent sahib - may have much to tell you. It is better I should go."
He gave a slip of paper to Bruce Duncan.
"This will be my address," Abdul explained. "I have a Hindu friend here in
New York. You can reach me there."
He drew a second paper from his pocket.
"This, burra sahib," he added, "is why I came to you last night. It fell
out of the pocket of the old man when he came to see you at your house."
Duncan read the paper and whistled. He turned to question Abdul, but the
Hindu had departed.
Harry Vincent came over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Duncan," he said, "I'm going to tell you a few facts. In return, I want
you to be frank with me. Last night I made a phone call after we arrived. I
called from my room, to a number from which I had received instructions to
assist you. I am permitted to tell you certain things concerning my own
operations. But in return I am to find out all you know. I suspect that you had
some secret reason for your visit to that house last night. I think we can help
each other. Does that seem fair?"
Bruce Duncan thought a moment. Then he decided. After all, it was
Vincent's intervention that had saved his life. Without that, his secret would
have perished with him.
"I agree," he said.
The waiter arrived with their breakfast. While they were eating Harry told
his story briefly.
"I am the agent of a being called The Shadow," he said. "I can't tell you
who he is or what he is, because I don't know. He saved me from suicide, and
I've worked for him ever since. He saved your life last night. He expects your
cooperation in return, and you are to keep secret what I tell you."
"Agreed," said Duncan. "Go on."
"I was watching Isaac Coffran's house," said The Shadow's agent. "We
believe that the old man is mixed up in some shady business, involving the
mysterious disappearance of three persons. I was told that you were coming.
"I tried to rescue you last night, but I would have been killed by
Coffran's big Mexican except for the intervention of a man who I believe was
The Shadow himself. Somehow, he freed you from the death chamber. I helped your
Hindu servant bring you here.
"If you can shed any light on the affairs of Isaac Coffran, you may give
us the clue that we need to explain the disappearances of three men - one from
Trenton, one from Richmond, one from Cleveland. Each vanished on a Tuesday. One
week apart. It is Friday now; the last one, Meyers of Cleveland, has been gone
three days."
"A Tuesday night," murmured Bruce Duncan. He counted on his fingers. "Why,
the first one must have gone just one week after-"
He paused.
"One week after what?" quizzed Harry Vincent.
"Vincent," blurted Duncan, "there's no use in trying to keep my secret any
longer. I'm going to rely on you."
DUNCAN felt relieved as he poured forth his story. He began with the
mysterious visitor who had robbed the hiding place in the hearth. He told of
his uncle's letter. He described the visit of Isaac Coffran, and his journey to
the home of the man he believed to be his uncle's friend. He described the
accidental reading of the last letter, and the terror he had known in the
gas-filled study. The escape by the elevator was news to Harry Vincent; from
then on, the account was plain. "What do you think about it?" asked Duncan when
he had concluded.
"Just one thing I want to know," said Harry. "You mentioned the letter
that you were reading in Coffran's study. What did it say, besides the
accusation?"
Duncan's mind was groping. His thoughts seemed far away as he repeated:
"An attack in Singapore - a plot in Russia - an attempted murder in France
- a man who told and died. There was something else. I have it! Bernardo Chefano
- the twisted lips - they will identify him no matter what disguise or alias he
may use."
"Ah!" exclaimed Harry. "There's something! We can connect some one else
with Isaac Coffran. Did the ape-man have twisted lips?"
"No," said Duncan, "he was hardly a man at all, as I remember. Of course
the hashish had me pretty well doped that night. I might have seen anything.
Bernardo Chefano. He can't be Pedro, either. Wait! Some one had charge of that
strange creature that came into my room. Some one whistled outside. That might
have been Pedro, of course. It couldn't have been old Coffran. So it may not
have been this fellow Chefano after all."
He happened to see the paper that lay on the foot of the bed. He had
forgotten it.
"Look," he said. "Abdul gave me this. It fell out of Coffran's pocket the
night he was at my house. Some one sent it to him. That indicates the extra
man!"
"'Find out what Duncan knows,'" read Harry. "He found out what you know,
all right, but not all." Harry read again:
"'Investigate personally.' He did that. Came to the house; most unusual
for him.
"'Prevent all interference.'
"That was Coffran's scheme all right. With you out of the way, there could
be no interference - on your part at least, and the message deals with you.
"'Plans are working perfectly.'
"What can that mean?"
Harry Vincent looked toward Bruce Duncan.
"It's got me stumped," admitted Duncan. "If the man from Russia had
arrived, Chefano - assuming he wrote the note - would have the jewels by this
time. The plans would not be working. They would have worked completely."
"Yes," agreed Harry, "it means that something has been going on; that
something will continue to go on. We must think in terms of these three men who
have disappeared. Can there be a connection between them and you?"
"I never heard of any of them. What did you say their names were?"
"Arthur Hooper, J. Howard Longstreth, Elbridge Meyers. Three men from
different cities. One disappeared each Tuesday, beginning exactly a week after
you had your experience."
"I never heard their names before." Bruce looked out the window, as if he
sought relief there.
Harry Vincent paced across the room. Suddenly he stopped. A look of horror
appeared upon his face.
"Duncan!" he exclaimed. "I have it! It is horrible - it is fiendish! Only
Isaac Coffran could have planned it!"
"What?"
"The crime that is still going on. Let me explain. Get my reasons. First,
suppose that the messenger from Russia is not due to arrive immediately.
"In those stolen papers was a list of the names and addresses of the six
men who were to receive their shares of the wealth. There was also a letter to
your uncle, naming the time and place of meeting - probably similar to those
received by the others.
"The thief can appear to claim the wealth, posing as your uncle or his
representative. But the others would be there, too. He would have to divide the
money he received."
"You don't mean -"
"You see it now, too. Fake notes to each of the six. Copies - forgeries -
patterned after the note to your uncle. Notes that look authentic - setting the
date ahead! One six weeks early, one five weeks early -"
"Vincent!" Bruce Duncan's exclamation expressed horror. "I see it! Hooper
- Longstreth - Meyers. Each of them is one of the six men! One by one they have
been lured to the meeting place and there they -"
"They have died," was Vincent's solemn announcement. "But Duncan, there
are three men more!"
"Three men more!" echoed Duncan. "Men who we do not know. Men whom we
cannot help. Men marked to die!"
CHAPTER XVIII
FELLOWS LEARNS SOMETHING
CLAUDE FELLOWS reclined comfortably in the cushions of the limousine and
puffed a cigar in contentment. It was Friday evening; he was on his way to a
party in New Jersey.
The chubby insurance broker had many wealthy friends. Most important of
them all was Lamont Cranston, a millionaire who owned a fine estate in New
Jersey, twenty miles outside of New York. Cranston was holding the party
to-night. He had sent one of his cars - chauffeur included - to bring Fellows.
Cranston was a good friend to have. Fellows had known him back in the days
when the insurance business had been less prosperous. The millionaire had always
given him encouragement. The only trouble was that Cranston was so often away.
Like other persons of wealth, he apparently went South in the winter and North
in the summer. It was said that he often traveled to Europe.
At any rate, it was an event when the big house in New Jersey was open and
guests were invited. Fellows had always felt that Cranston might have helped him
out of his financial trouble a few years ago. But that had occurred when the
millionaire was away. Fellows had pulled out of his predicament, thanks to The
Shadow. That had been his first experience with his mysterious employer.
Fellows had performed his services faithfully and well. He no longer had
worries. Checks came in regularly, even when his insurance business was slow.
He had never been able to identify The Shadow; now he was no longer curious
about the matter.
To-day he had sent in a most important report. Harry Vincent had come to
his office and had told of an interview with Bruce Duncan. Not only had Fellows
learned of Isaac Coffran's fiendish schemes and the secret of Bruce Duncan's
uncle; he had listened to a well-thought-out theory that Vincent had evolved.
All these matters had gone in the morning report. The stenographer had
taken the envelope to the dingy office on Twenty-third Street. A reply had been
received. It was a simple one - instructions to Harry Vincent to wait with Bruce
Duncan at the Metrolite Hotel until further notice.
Vincent had seemed a bit impatient. But Fellows had taken the whole affair
very calmly, and his soothing advice had quieted the eager young man. It was
evident that The Shadow intended to think matters over carefully. The situation
was unquestionably a difficult one.
The limousine had passed through the Holland Tunnel. It had traveled
several miles into New Jersey and was now running along an unimportant highway.
The chauffeur pulled up at a small service station.
"Always get my gasoline here, sir," he explained to Fellows, opening the
rear door of the car to do so.
"I have no objections." The insurance broker smiled.
The chauffeur closed the door. Fellows shut his eyes and yawned. As he
did, he thought he heard the door open and close again. Probably the chauffeur
had not shut it tightly the first time.
The limousine was moving again. The insurance broker was completely alone
in back; in fact, he was entirely by himself, for the glass partition was
closed behind the chauffeur.
"This is really comfortable," he said aloud.
"I agree with you," replied a voice.
FELLOWS was startled. The voice had come from the corner of the car. It
was black there, for there were no lights along the road. But Fellows was not
surprised simply because he heard the voice; it was the tone of the voice that
startled him. He had heard it before - long ago - that weird whisper. It had
always seemed friendly to him, but he could well imagine it as a voice that
could create dread apprehension.
"The Shadow!" he exclaimed.
"Yes," came the sibilant whisper. "To-day's report was excellent."
"Thank you," replied Fellows.
"Realizing that you would be alone," said the voice of The Shadow, "I took
this opportunity to join you on your journey. I have been thinking matters over.
Listen carefully while I tell you what our new plans will be. You can give
Vincent his instructions tomorrow."
Fellows leaned back in the seat and shut his eyes. He felt more accustomed
to that strange, whispered voice. It was low but clear. Every word seemed to
impress itself upon his mind.
"The fourth man, picked for death, will reach the meeting place on next
Tuesday. At ten o'clock a train leaves Harrisburg - southwest, through the
Cumberland Valley. I believe the meeting place is in that direction - perhaps
among the surrounding mountains.
"Before next Tuesday the place must be discovered. You may intrust that
work to two men - Harry Vincent and Bruce Duncan.
"You will receive a memorandum to-morrow morning by nine o'clock."
The big car turned off the road and stopped between stone gateposts. A
keeper appeared in the glare of the lights and opened the iron gates.
The limousine swung up the driveway. It stopped at the entrance to
Cranston's mansion. The chauffeur opened the door on the side where The Shadow
sat. The porch lights shone fully into the interior of the automobile. The
insurance broker could see the entire seat as he stepped out.
The car was empty!
At some instant - probably when they had stopped at the gates - The Shadow
had disappeared, silently and invisibly.
Fellows could not believe his senses. He almost doubted that he had had a
companion in the limousine. He would have considered it all a dream, but for
those clear thoughts and statements that still lingered in his mind.
He went leisurely into the house. He gave his hat and coat to a waiting
servant. He was ushered into the large living room.
Lamont Cranston greeted him with a smile. The millionaire was a
comparatively young man, but his face seemed a trifle old. In fact it was
almost masklike, as though his features possessed an artificial mold - a
surface over a face beneath.
Cranston's eyes were twinkling in a kindly manner.
"Glad to see you, Claude," he said.
"Thanks for sending the car," replied Fellows.
"That's all right." The millionaire laughed. "But I've been worrying about
you, old man. Rather a dull trip it must have been - coming out here all alone."
"I didn't mind it."
"That's good." The millionaire's face took on an almost solemn expression.
"Yet it must have been rather lonely for you. So I'll send a few of the other
guests back with you to-night. It will be more interesting than to sit all
alone - alone with darkness - and shadows."
CHAPTER XIX
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
IT was Monday morning.
Two men were eating a late breakfast in the only restaurant of a small
town in Pennsylvania. They were alone in a corner. Across the street they could
see the railroad station.
The man nearest the window began to speak.
"Well, Harry," he said, "this looks like our last bet. The thriving town
of Culbertville, Pennsylvania. Unless we find something here, the whole plan is
wrong."
"Maybe we slipped up in one of the other towns, Bruce."
"Well, we made enough inquiries. Of course, time has been short. We can
finish here to-day, then try the other places again to-morrow. But there are
other places that we haven't visited at all."
"Those were eliminated in the final instructions we received from Fellows."
"You mean in that telegram that was waiting for us in Harrisburg?"
"Yes."
"Why did Fellows cut them off the list? What does he know about it? We're
here on the ground. He's back in New York."
"The instructions came from The Shadow, Bruce. Fellows merely passed them
on to us."
"Maybe The Shadow is wrong, Harry."
"You don't know The Shadow, Bruce."
The man by the window shrugged his shoulders.
"He knows his stuff all right, Harry. I can see that. But there's just a
certain amount that a human mind can do. I understand his plan all right. He
thinks that one of the towns along this branch line is the spot we're after. So
he studies them all from some standpoint that we don't know, and cuts some of
them off the list. I admit that that's good theory. But does it work in
practice?"
"That's what we're trying to find out."
"I know. So far it's been a blank. Keep on with it; I'm game. But I'm
beginning to question the entire basis of the thing. There's two great chances
of error. First - Elbridge Meyers. Are we sure he's one of the men? Second -
assuming that he is one of them, did he come this way?"
"It's all based on deduction, Bruce. The Shadow is a master of that art."
"Granted. But we're playing two long shots just the same. I'm right with
you, Harry. But I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't work out."
His companion reached in his pocket and drew out a letter.
"I just stepped in the post office," he explained. "Meant to open this
when I came in. It's from Fellows - sent general delivery to reach us here this
morning. It can't be very important, but it may have some notes of interest."
He opened the letter and scanned the written page. Bruce Duncan could see
that the words were in code.
"Well," said Harry Vincent, smiling. "Here's an answer to your first
question. Investigation has revealed that all three men - Hooper, Longstreth,
and Meyers - were in Russia some years ago. Looks like the original idea is
correct."
"Let's see the letter," suggested Bruce curiously.
Harry gave it to him.
"I said the letter," repeated Bruce.
"I gave it to you."
"No, you didn't. This is a blank sheet of paper."
Harry smiled.
"I forgot you didn't know about it," he said. "The ink doesn't last on any
letters that deal with The Shadow's business. It fades out and never comes back."
HARRY rose from the table.
"Let's get started," he suggested.
They left the restaurant and drove about the town in Vincent's coupe. The
car bore Pennsylvania license plates. Harry had been careful about that
registration. It would not attract the attention of a car that was plainly
identified as from New York.
After a short cruise they returned and separated. Each spent an hour about
town, gossiping in stores and with idlers. This was an easy task in the rural
community.
"Only one good idea," said Harry when they met. "We might try the old
Mountain Pike that goes north from here. There's a bus runs over it, through a
gap between the hills. The bus waits for the last train from Harrisburg. Meyers
might have taken it if he got off here."
"Good idea," agreed Bruce. "I haven't anything better to offer."
They rode slowly along the pike toward the nearest mountains, which were
several miles away. As they neared the rising slopes, the road entered thick
woods, which opened occasionally when they approached farms.
They stopped when they had reached the highest point in the road, midway
between two small mountains.
"Let's go back," said Bruce. "We passed several side roads. The spot we
hope to find is probably some distance off the pike."
Returning, they reached a road that went to their left. It was a dirt road
and in poor condition. Harry drove the car carefully and slowed down as they
neared a bend.
"Listen!" exclaimed Bruce.
From a distance up the road came a cry for help. It was a man's voice,
screaming loudly.
Harry pressed the accelerator. The car shot forward. They rounded the
curve and turned sharply in the other direction. Directly in their path were
two men struggling in the center of the road. One was trying to free himself
from the other's grasp. He was shouting, but his cries were weakening.
Evidently he was being choked.
Harry jerked the wheel as he applied the brakes. He missed the combatants
by a narrow margin, almost ditching the car at the side of the road.
The men were at the left of the car. The one who had been screaming had
fallen in the dust, his opponent upon him.
THE attacker was not a large man, but he appeared vigorous. Harry seized
him by the shoulders and dragged him away. With a terrible snarl the fellow
turned upon him. The attack was terrific. In one second Harry was lying
helpless, with the man beating his head against the road.
Bruce came to the rescue. He had seen Vincent fall, and he realized the
strength of the antagonist. He had not anticipated such a battle or he would
have seized a wrench from the car. His help was needed instantly now; he hurled
himself upon the frenzied man and rolled him in the dust.
With this advantage, Bruce expected quick results. Yet he was suddenly
overpowered; the tables were turned. He found himself on his back, his arms
beneath him. Clawlike hands were at his throat. As he stared upward he saw a
hideous, wizened face, with wicked, glaring eyes.
Bruce Duncan was at the mercy of that apelike creature that had entered
his room a month ago. It was the same brutal face that he had seen before!
The monster possessed prodigious strength. It was choking him to death.
Why didn't Vincent come to his rescue? Vincent, or the other man, whom they had
aided? Duncan's head was beating within, like the sound of a drum. His eyes
seemed bulging from his head. He could even feel the claws that were buried in
his neck.
Suddenly the pressure relaxed. Duncan was still powerless; the creature's
hands were still at his throat. But its head had turned sideways. It was
waiting, unwilling to loose its victim, yet hesitating for some unknown reason.
It seemed to be listening for something.
As Duncan breathed, the drumming ceased, and his head cleared. Then to his
ears came a sound that he had heard on that same eventful night. It was a low,
hissing whistle from far away; a penetrating whistle that seemed to echo
through his brain.
The creature rose quickly. With long, jumping strides it dashed to the
side of the road. As he propped himself on one elbow, Bruce Duncan saw the
strange monster disappear into the surrounding woods.
CHAPTER XX
TWISTED LIPS
SOME one helped Bruce Duncan to his feet. It was the man who had been
struggling with the creature when the coupe had arrived.
Harry Vincent, a dazed look on his face, was sitting in the road, rubbing
the back of his head.
The man, who was assisting Duncan, appeared to be a farmer. His face was
white from his recent experience.
"Sorry I couldn't come quicker, friend," he said. "You gentlemen helped
me. I was pretty near done. I was just comin' to help you when the critter ran
away. I was agoin' to hit him with this."
He exhibited a large stone in his right hand.
"Let's get him!" exclaimed Bruce.
He leaped to his feet and rushed to the car. He came back with two
wrenches and a jack handle. He passed a wrench to the farmer. Harry, now well
recovered, accepted the other. Flourishing the jack handle, Bruce started
through the underbrush, with the others closely following.
The creature had plowed a track through the bushes. It was easy for them
to follow the course, which led to a path. Running along, away from the road,
the three men continued their pursuit.
In a few hundred yards they came to a clearing. A small house stood there
- a one-story building, not much better than a cabin. A man was watching from
the rude porch. He held a shotgun over one arm, and he gazed narrowly at the
approaching group.
Bruce Duncan stopped in front of him. The man was dressed in outing
clothes, but he did not appear to be a woodsman. Instead, he looked like some
one from the city. His face was rather hardened, and he did not appear friendly.
"Well?" questioned the man, as though demanding an explanation.
"Did you see anything of a wild man?" asked Vincent, joining Bruce Duncan.
"That's about the best way to describe the fellow we're after."
"You look rather wild yourselves," observed the man in a gruff voice.
"You're on private property, too. What's the idea of coming in here this way?"
"It's the wild man," explained Duncan angrily. "He came this way. You must
have seen him."
The man on the porch thrust his chin forward.
"You're telling me what I've seen?" he asked in a significant voice.
"Listen, young fellow. You're a trespasser. Get that? Move along before I plug
you."
He raised the shotgun in a threatening manner.
The farmer intervened.
"Just forget that shotgun, stranger," he said. "This ain't your property.
I live around here. I know."
"I'm renting it," declared the man on the porch.
"From whom? I'll bet you're squatting here. This is Seth Wilkinson's
property. Seth's a friend of mine. Lives in Harrisburg. If you don't want
trespassers, where's your notice?"
"Over on that tree."
"That's Seth Wilkinson's sign. Not yours. What's more, that shotgun
business ain't used around these parts no more. If you want a quick jury trial
with twelve men all agin' you, just plug one of us. You got just two barrels
there. You ain't agoin' to hit all three."
He swung the wrench in short circles.
"Look!" exclaimed Harry. "See? In the window!"
They turned toward the cabin window, but saw nothing.
"It's gone," asserted Harry. "It's the man that was in the road. He's
there in the house. He half killed me. I'm going to get him."
"Wait a minute." The man on the porch was speaking. "I guess I've made a
mistake with you fellows. I've got the wild man here, boys. He isn't a wild
man, though. He's just eccentric. Did he give you trouble?"
"Blamed right he did," ejaculated the farmer. "He jumped out of the bushes
and landed on me in the road. These gentlemen came along in their car just in
time to save me."
"That makes it different." The man on the porch laid the shotgun aside.
"Let me explain matters. This man I have here is half-witted. He's strong, but
he's mild ordinarily. I've got charge of him. I know how to handle him, and
he's just like a child ordinarily. I brought him here because we figured that
if he was kept off by himself for a while, he would improve.
"I am very sorry for what has happened," the man went on smoothly. "I
really mean that. I can promise you that it will not happen again. I was
ignorant of what actually occurred. This is a valuable lesson for me."
Bruce Duncan's mind was working rapidly. The man's story was a good one
and plausible. It was evident that his ape-faced charge had escaped by
accident. There were even more reasons than the one he had explained that would
make him desirous of keeping the brute under cover.
For Duncan knew that the ape-man had been used for a criminal purpose on
at least one occasion. He and Vincent had found the clue they sought - the fact
that linked the present with that first event of a month ago.
The man on the porch could not have recognized Duncan. For it was the
ape-man who had entered his room, and Bruce doubted that the creature had
sufficient intelligence to tell his master who Bruce Duncan was.
Bruce glanced at Harry. He realized that his friend had not yet caught the
significance of their discovery. The best plan was to leave and go back toward
the town. On the way he could tell everything to Vincent.
They were nearing the evidence they sought. But who was the man on the
porch? Was he merely a person of minor importance who kept the apelike creature
under control? Or was he the one behind the sequence of crime?
It was this perplexity that caused Bruce Duncan to remain staring at the
fellow after his two companions had turned toward the path. The stranger had
bidden them a cordial farewell, thanking them for informing him of the attack
made by his ward.
The man was laughing in a friendly manner as he waved good-by. As Harry
and the farmer turned away, his lips closed together.
Upon his face appeared a strange, peculiar smile.
On one side his lips seemed to curl upward, on the other they turned
downward. It gave his mouth a distorted expression - one that the viewer would
not soon forget.
Bruce Duncan turned and hurried after his companions. He could scarcely
restrain his exultation.
For the smile had betrayed the identity of the man who lived in the cabin.
There was only one way to describe that smile. The mouth that had formed it had
twisted lips.
CHAPTER XXI
PLANS ARE ARRANGED
WHEN Vincent, Duncan and the farmer had reached the road, Harry turned the
car back toward the Mountain Pike. They rode along the dirt road, taking the
farmer with them. He said good-by at the pike, and the two young men were alone
as Harry swung the coupe onto the highway that led back to Culbertville.
It was then that Bruce Duncan made his startling revelations to his
astonished companion.
"The ape-man!" exclaimed Harry when he had heard the story. "The same
beast that entered your room! And the fellow on the porch was Chefano! Bruce,
we've found what we wanted."
"Right, Harry. But what shall we do next?"
Harry considered.
"It won't do to go back there right away," he said. "I think our best plan
is to head for the town. When we're there I think we can make plans."
"Are you going to report to New York?"
"Not until to-night. That will be soon enough. We may discover more in the
meantime."
"Still, we ought to be on the ground. Our plan now is to watch Chefano. We
must do it carefully."
"No question about that, Bruce. The ape-faced wild man is dangerous. It's
not wise to take chances."
"That's not the most important reason. We must not let Chefano suspect
that we are present. If he has any idea that we are interested in his plans, he
will probably make changes."
"You are right, Bruce. The best thing we can do to start is to make
inquiries in the village. We will find out how the land lies."
"Be careful. Chefano may have some one working with him, on the lookout
for strangers."
"I don't think so, Bruce. But you leave it to me. I have a plan already
forming. Let me do the questioning; you agree with anything I say. I won't
excite the least suspicion."
They were approaching the town. When they arrived near the station,
Vincent parked the car. With Duncan following, he strolled up to a group of
idlers.
"Howdy," said one of the men.
"Good morning," replied Harry. "Nice country around here."
"Plenty say that."
"How's the fishing?"
"Good - if you know the right places."
The other men in the group laughed good-naturedly.
"My friend and I are looking for a place to spend a few weeks. Thought
maybe we could rent a little shack in the woods. Do you know of any up along
the Mountain Pike?"
"There's quite a few up that way," replied one of the other idlers. "All
depends upon how far away from town you want to be."
"Seth Wilkinson has a couple of old cabins in the woods," remarked another
man. "They're pretty old ones, I reckon. Wouldn't be much good in wet weather."
"Try old Josh Stevens," suggested the first man. "He's got a regular house
- small but good - about a half mile off the pike. There ain't been any one
living there for a long time."
"Where does his place lie?" questioned Harry. "Is it very far from town?"
"About four miles out," said the former speaker. "When you begin to get up
in the hills, you run into Wilkinson's land. It comes down to the pike. Then
there's a small road leading in to the right. That's the road to the house. But
you don't need to go out there to find out more about it. Stevens has a store
across the street there. You can see him now if you want."
"How does it sound to you?" Vincent asked Duncan.
"All right," answered his companion.
THEY found Josh Stevens in his store. He was anxious to rent the house.
Once started, he began a long description of it. With the aid of a few
questions, Harry Vincent gained an excellent fund of information. It was a good
house, better than the two old cabins owned by Seth Wilkinson. They were nothing
more than shacks. They could be seen by walking through the woods below the
Stevens house. Neither of the cabins was occupied; Wilkinson was away, and had
neglected them. Josh Stevens invited the two visitors to make the comparison
for themselves.
The outcome of the discussion was the payment of sixteen dollars - a
month's rent in advance - by Harry.
The mountain bus was at the station when the young men came out of Josh
Stevens's store. Harry went over and talked with the driver.
"Where do you stop along the Mountain Pike?" he inquired. "We're going to
stay up that direction. We may have to use the bus occasionally."
"I stop anywhere a passenger wants to get off. You can't ask much better
service than that."
"When is the last bus?"
"Leaves here at eleven thirty, after the last train comes in from
Harrisburg. We wait if the train's late. It's usually on time."
"Do you get many passengers that late?" asked Bruce casually.
"Quite a few that go through to the end of the route. Not many that get
off before that."
"Mostly regular passengers, I suppose," said Harry.
"Generally. I know most of them on that last trip. Guess I haven't had a
stranger for a week - not since the time I left the fellow off at the Ridge
Road. Funny thing; I hadn't made that stop in months. Now it seems like some
new rider gets off there every week, regular."
Duncan glanced significantly at Vincent. The Ridge Road was the one on
which they had encountered the ape-man.
"Looks like we have everything," Bruce told Harry as they walked across
the street. "The old cabin must be the meeting place. The letters that were
received must have given the directions to go there."
"The time of the meeting is evidently midnight," replied Harry. "With the
bus leaving at eleven thirty, any one could arrive at the cabin before twelve."
"How about your report?"
Harry smiled at the question.
"To-night is soon enough," he replied. "It's time for lunch now."
They reached the Stevens house late in the afternoon. The place was
well-secluded in the thick woods; an ideal spot to remain undiscovered. The
house contained old furniture; they arranged the beds with sheets and blankets
that they had bought at Stevens's store.
"What next?" asked Bruce.
"Come with me," replied Harry.
He went to the back of the coupe and opened it. Within was a large box
which Harry unlocked. Lifting the lid and taking out an inner covering, he
revealed a complete radio apparatus - the most compact mechanism that Duncan
had ever seen.
"Know anything about wireless telegraphy?" questioned Harry.
"Not much," admitted his companion. "I studied the International code and
can send messages slowly, but I never went in for radio very strongly."
"I know a good bit about it," said Harry. "This is one of the simplest
sending sets ever devised. It has remarkable mechanical improvements. You can
help me put up the aerial. I'll do the rest."
The two men completed the work at dusk. The night was cool at this
altitude. They sat before a fire in the main room on the first floor, with the
sending equipment and the receiving set close by.
"We'll cook some dinner," said Harry. "Then we can make our last
investigation. After that we send out information. Fellows said that the Monday
night report would be most important."
Duncan was enthused while they ate. He had wondered why Vincent had been
so indifferent about making his report. He had imagined that out here they
would be far away from means of communication, and that it would be necessary
to go into the village to find a telephone. Instead, they were in direct
contact with headquarters.
Harry had pulled down the shades at dark. After they had finished eating,
he extinguished the oil lamps. He went out on the porch. Bruce followed. They
found a path in the darkness. It led toward Seth Wilkinson's property.
They felt their way for a considerable distance. Then Harry clutched his
companion's arm.
"Look," he whispered. "A light through the woods."
The gleam was from the cabin they had visited during the morning. As they
arrived closer, they saw that the light came from a crack at the bottom of a
rear window where the shade had not been fully drawn.
"No use going any farther," whispered Harry. "We know who is inside;
that's enough. We mustn't let Chefano have any suspicion whatever."
They listened a while in the hope that some sound might come from the
shack. But all remained silent. The companions carefully retraced their
footsteps and found their own abode.
Seated by the fire, Harry clicked his first message, tapping the key
slowly while he referred to a code that lay before him. He waited a few
minutes, then repeated the message he had sent.
A half hour passed while Harry waited with the ear phones on his head.
Then his hand became busy with a pencil and paper. He was receiving a reply.
He read the message to Bruce Duncan:
"Watch the house to-morrow night. When the fourth man arrives, be ready to
act. Protect him at any cost. Meanwhile, give no sign of your presence."
Harry sent a brief response stating that the message had been received. He
opened a suitcase that he had brought from the car. He took two automatics and
gave one to Bruce Duncan. He repeated the operation with two flashlights that
were in the bag. Then he bolted the door of the house.
"We'll take no chances to-night," he said. "But I am sure that we are safe
here. Our real task is tomorrow - at midnight. I gave full details of our
location in my first message, and also described the cabin where Chefano awaits
the next victim. We will be ready when the time arrives."
CHAPTER XXII
A SCHEME FOR VENGEANCE
ISAAC COFFRAN sat in his upstairs room and tapped methodically on the arm
of his chair. Before him stood Pedro. The big Mexican wore a bandage on his
head.
"Pedro," said the old man in a sharp voice, "I am thinking of something
that will please you."
The Mexican did not reply. Isaac Coffran continued as though he had not
expected a response.
"I like to talk to you, Pedro. You seldom say anything in return. That is
because you do not think for yourself. You do just what you are told to do. You
are the type of man that is useful."
The Mexican grinned.
"That's better," said the old man. "You are becoming interested. A few
nights ago, Pedro, you made a great mistake. You left a window loose in the
cellar. I do not like you to make mistakes. You have suffered for it. That is
why you are wearing the bandage on your head. I am going to give you a chance
to make amends for your mistake."
The grin on the Mexican's face broadened until it became an ugly leer.
"This house has been watched," resumed Isaac Coffran. "When young Duncan
came in he was seen. He was rescued. He was the only man who has ever escaped
me. He will be caught later. But it is more important that we capture the man
who caused the trouble. Do you agree with me, Pedro?"
The big Mexican nodded.
"The man we want is called The Shadow," said Isaac Coffran. "He is clever.
Like all clever men, he is not always wise. By watching this house he has
learned nothing of my plans. For he is still watching."
The old man went to the window and raised a tiny section of the iron
shutter. Through it he peered into the street below.
"I cannot see him, Pedro," he said, "yet I know that he is watching. There
are shadows in the street, and among them is The Shadow. Let him watch. He will
not enter again. We have gone over every place carefully. While he is here
watching, he cannot be elsewhere. That is to my advantage. He will learn
nothing here. I am content while he stays.
"But he may go away. Perhaps he will not come here to-morrow night. That
would be unfortunate, Pedro. For while he is outside, across the street, we can
control him. We can trap him. You would like that, wouldn't you, Pedro?"
"I would like it," said the Mexican. "I would like it - very much."
"I thought so," said Isaac Coffran with a cunning smile. "So I am going to
trap him, Pedro, and you are to help me."
THE Mexican's smile disappeared. His face became malicious. He drew the
large machete from his belt. The fingers of his other hand twitched as though
eager for vengeance.
"Not that way, Pedro," said the old man. "I said that you do not think,
and I speak the truth. The Shadow is too wise to enter here without a reason.
You would have me leave the front door open, I suppose, thinking that he would
enter. That action, Pedro, would make him stay away.
"Why is he waiting and watching? Not because he expects some one to
arrive, but because he hopes some one will leave. He knows who is in the house.
He knows that I am here. He knows that you are here. If we leave, we will be
followed. So you will leave Pedro. You will go out hurriedly, but you will make
no sign to indicate that you know some one is there - across the street. Do you
understand?"
"Si, senor," replied the Mexican. "I understand. What do you wish that I
should do?"
"Three years ago, Pedro," said Isaac Coffran reflectively, "we disposed of
a troublesome person. He was annoying - like this Shadow. He had cause to follow
you. So I let him follow you. You went to a little store a few streets away. You
remember the place. From there you went to a place called the Black Ship -
downstairs - underground - where men drink."
"I remember," replied the Mexican. His evil grin reappeared. "I remember
what happened there. I went through the big room -"
"That is enough," interrupted Isaac Coffran. "Pedro, you know well that I
have many ways and many plans which I use to remove those persons who are
troublesome. I seldom use the same method often. That is why my methods are
sure. Three years ago! That was the only time I worked the plan that I intend
to use to-night. It is arranged by a man whom I can trust, because he is paid
in advance and does not know who I am!
"He is always ready, waiting, on a Monday night. I have paid him regularly
for three years, because I knew that some day I would need him. To-night he will
earn his pay.
"The Shadow!" The old man chuckled in derision. "The Shadow! A man who is
clever. He proved that the other night. He has studied me, Pedro. He knows that
I plot to bring people here. How he has found it out is a mystery, for no one
else has ever suspected it. But there is one thing The Shadow does not know; I
am sure of that. He does not know that I can lure clever persons away from my
house and trap them somewhere else! Very well. He will learn that to-night."
The old man looked at the clock upon the wall.
"Five minutes after eleven," he said. "It is time for you to start. I can
depend upon you, Pedro. When you have done something once, you can always do it
well the second time. Go. Remain there. Remember what you see. Tell me all. You
will have the pleasure to-night, when you see The Shadow die!"
THE gleam upon Pedro's dark face revealed his eagerness. The big Mexican's
eyes were widening. His breath hissed as he sucked through his teeth. He thrust
the machete beneath his coat. He opened and closed his huge fists. He laughed
silently. Then he became calm.
"I thank you, senor," he said. "I thank you. I go. Now."
Isaac Coffran rubbed his hands together gleefully as he heard the
Mexican's departing footsteps. He listened as the front door opened. He peered
through the opening in the shutter. He saw Pedro walking along the street. He
fancied that a shadow on the pavement was moving in pursuit.
Pedro was not thinking of the shadows that surrounded him. The big Mexican
had no imagination. His mind dealt with tangible matters as he walked toward the
corner.
He was recalling what had occurred a few nights before - how living hands
had come through the cellar grating to subdue him as easily as if he had been a
child. Pedro did not smile as he reached the corner, yet his teeth were gleaming
in the brightness of the street lamp. His expression was one of expected
vengeance.
The Mexican turned several corners, finally stopping on a side street
before a cigar store. He entered the shop. He purchased two packs of
cigarettes, each of a different brand.
He loitered about for several minutes, then, lighting a cigarette, he
started for the door. There he hesitated a moment and felt carefully in his
pocket as though to make sure that he had something about which he might be
anxious. With a satisfied smile he stepped into the street and walked away.
While the big Mexican had been standing in the store, a man sitting in a
chair at the rear had risen and entered a telephone booth. Shortly after
Pedro's departure, this man, a stoop-shouldered, crafty-looking fellow, sidled
from the door of the tobacco shop.
The man behind the counter saw him go, but did not regard the matter as
significant. He knew the fellow as a customer who idled about the shop on
various occasions. Had the storekeeper been conversant with the underworld, he
would have recognized the man as "Spotter" - one of the strangest characters in
the realm of gangland.
Spotter's claim to fame rested upon his ability to recognize faces and the
ease with which he could trail any one whom he might follow. Immediately upon
leaving the cigar store he became the least conspicuous person in the street.
He moved stealthily, going from one corner of a building to another,
sliding behind lamp-posts, obscuring himself beside empty ash cans. People
walked by him without detecting his presence.
Yet with it all, Spotter moved with amazing rapidity. Within a few minutes
he was in sight of Pedro the Mexican, and his quick eyes were following the big
man's course.
Yet it was not Pedro himself that Spotter seemed to be watching. His gaze
was fixed some distance behind the Mexican, and as Spotter maintained a space
of fifty yards between himself and the man ahead, a perplexed look appeared
upon his face.
"This ain't right," whispered Spotter to himself. "Where's de guy I'm
supposed to watch? Maybe he dropped out somewhere."
He crossed the street and quickened his pace until he was closer to Pedro.
Then Spotter's body merged suddenly alongside a barrel that was on the sidewalk.
He watched carefully as the Mexican passed beneath a bright light. He could see
Pedro distinctly. He even noted the shadow of the huge man.
When Pedro had passed along, Spotter's eyes still remained upon that
lighted area. No other man appeared there, but a long, thin shadow became
visible on the sidewalk. It slid beneath the glare. It was blotted by the
blackness beyond.
The barrel moved as Spotter trembled against it. The strange personage of
the underworld did not move from his position. Instead he whispered to himself.
"It looks like - like - De Shadow!"
Regaining his nerve, Spotter slid along the sidewalk, slowly, now, as
though he desired to have as much distance as possible between himself and
Pedro.
"If it ain't De Shadow," he muttered, "I'm all right. If it is De Shadow -
well, I got to do it. He ain't watchin' me, anyway. He's after dat big guy up
ahead. He don't have to know I'm here - but he finds out anyt'ing! Everyt'ing!"
Spotter squatted close to a fire plug and thought for a moment. Then he
laughed harshly.
"Well," he said softly, "it may be his funeral tonight. His funeral. So
here goes. I don't owe De Shadow no good feelin's. I lost out t'rough him once.
I ain't goin' to quit, now that I got started."
He moved more quickly, but with the greatest care. Even his footsteps were
soundless. And as he followed, far behind Pedro, he became more bold. For
Spotter was entering the heart of the underworld; he was among the haunts with
which he was most familiar.
The Mexican turned down an alley. Spotter reached the corner very quickly.
He saw Pedro stop before a door. He waited while the Mexican entered. A dim
light revealed the scene, yet Spotter could see no one else - not even a
conspicuous shadow.
Slowly, stealthily, he crept down the dim alley, virtually invisible in
the darkness. He stopped suddenly, thirty feet before he reached the doorway.
He saw it now, across the alley - a huge, black blot on the sidewalk - a blot
that seemed to sway.
Spotter remained motionless. His eyes sought the wall above the strange
quivering shadow. Everything was dark along the wall; he would have sworn that
there was no one in that spot.
No one moved along the alley. The place seemed absolutely deserted.
Spotter, crouched behind a pile of boxes, did not betray his presence. He
waited expectantly, afraid to move despite the fact that his sharp eyes had
seen nothing.
Suddenly a human form seemed to emerge from the dark wall. The appearance
was instantaneous, as though a curtain had been swept aside to reveal a living
being. A man walked openly beneath the light - a man attired in rough clothing,
who appeared to be a typical denizen of the underworld.
Spotter could see the man's face; it was a sullen, grimy face. He knew
every one in gangland; yet he could not identify this person. The man who had
appeared with such amazing suddenness entered the doorway where the Mexican had
gone.
Spotter waited, again undecided. Then he rose slowly, and stood still. For
a moment he began to turn, as though to leave the alley. Then, with an effort,
he approached the doorway. It was the entrance to the basement den known as the
Black Ship - a place with which Spotter was quite familiar.
"De bunch will know me," mumbled Spotter as he hesitated before the door.
"Dey will all know me. An' if dat's De Shadow - well, he will know me, too."
He thrust his hands in his pockets. Some coins jingled. They were the
change left from money he had spent - money which had been paid him in advance
for the work he was expected to do to-night.
"I tipped de bunch off already," observed Spotter, as though reasoning
with himself. "If I don't show up, maybe dey'll blow de works demselves. I
ain't got nothin' to do but go ahead wid it. It means more dough comin' to me
if it works."
He shrugged his shoulders.
Then, defying his apprehensions, he drew his hands from his pockets,
opened the door, and stepped into the Black Ship.
CHAPTER XXIII
IN THE BLACK SHIP
THERE were about two dozen men in the large underground den when Pedro
entered. The Mexican, with his ugly, scar-marked face, was a fit companion for
the group that was assembled there. His eyes shone, and his teeth gleamed as he
looked about him with satisfaction.
The crowd in the Black Ship represented the most ruthless thugs of the
underworld. Every face that Pedro saw was a hardened, criminal type. Pockmarked
features, ratlike eyes, coarse, brutal lips - these predominated in the Black
Ship.
The Mexican seated himself at a table near the small bar that was in one
corner of the room. The man behind the bar, a huge, brutal fellow, brought out
a bottle and a glass and placed them in front of Pedro. The Mexican gave him a
dollar bill.
He knew who the bartender was. The man was "Red Mike" himself, the
proprietor of the Black Ship. He conducted his notorious dive without
interference from the police. For the Black Ship was the meeting place of the
worst criminals that the underworld could boast, and the fact that it operated
almost openly was of value to the authorities who sought to combat the evil
hordes of gangland.
Police detectives did not enter the Black Ship, but their stool pigeons
did. Time and again notorious criminals were traced from this den of the
underworld. Yet it was only the most daring and most secretive of stool pigeons
who dared enter the Black Ship; for had their identity been known, their lives
would have been taken in an instant.
Red Mike knew that his place was tolerated by the police. For that reason
he insisted that order be preserved. The gangsters respected Red Mike. They
were his friends, and any unruly customer would be ejected instantly at his
command.
"No gun play" was the proprietor's strict rule. He did not permit fights
and quarrels among crooks to enter his domain. There was only one entrance to
the Black Ship. It was an unwritten law in the underworld that those whose
victims entered the dive beneath the street should wait outside until their men
left Red Mike's place.
Any one could enter. Any one could be served. But only the toughest
characters came in. Red Mike spotted strangers instantly. As long as they sat
quietly and drank what they received they were welcome. But no one was allowed
to take a bottle from his place.
LIKE every hardened man of that district, Red Mike was willing to take a
chance for the proper price. Hence, on rare occasions, he allowed a fight to
start in the Black Ship - but always under the most careful conditions.
He was expecting trouble to-night. A phone call had come from the proper
person. In response, Red Mike had served free drinks to all his patrons. This
was a remarkable action - one which was seldom performed in the Black Ship.
Some of the men had received the unexpected benefit with looks of
surprise. Others - these were the ones whom Red Mike noticed particularly - had
grinned in anticipation. Their toughened faces had shown sudden interest.
One by one they had risen from their tables and had gone through a door
into a small inner room - a stone-walled apartment with an iron-plated door. It
was seldom that Red Mike allowed any of his patrons to enter that room. It was
usually kept for storage purposes.
Pedro the Mexican had entered before the last man had gone through the
heavy door. He finished his drink leisurely. While he still sat at his table,
the outer door of the Black Ship swung open and a man walked through the
entrance.
The newcomer was tall and wiry. He wore khaki pants that were too large
for him. An old sweater covered his body. A ragged cap was pulled down over his
eyes. Beneath the visor was a face that revealed the typical gangster - a cruel,
toughened face.
The pulled-down cap obscured the man's eyes and forehead. Red Mike did not
recognize the new customer, yet he placed him instantly as a gangster. The
proprietor of the Black Ship prided himself on his ability to spot any
detective. This fellow was not of that ilk. He was unquestionably a denizen of
the underworld.
The man accepted the bottle and glass that Red Mike laid before him and
proffered a five-dollar bill. The proprietor made change and laid the money on
the table. The man's head was turned downward; the cap prevented Red Mike from
catching the slightest glimpse of his countenance.
The proprietor of the Black Ship waited behind the bar. He watched the
stranger draw out a cigarette and light it before sampling the contents of the
bottle. Another man came through the entrance. Red Mike recognized the fellow
instantly. It was Spotter, the crafty-faced sneak who knew the underworld so
well.
Spotter moved quickly and quietly across the room, taking a position in a
corner, where he could observe the stranger who had entered before him. Yet
Spotter was so situated that the other man could not see him without turning.
No sign on Spotter's face betrayed any interest whatever. He became instantly
occupied with the bottle that Red Mike put before him.
Pedro the Mexican sat where he could see Spotter. The big man with the
scar on his face rose from the table. He stood as though undecided. Then he
walked across and opened the heavy door. The sound of voices came from within
as the Mexican entered the other room.
A FEW minutes passed, then two or three more ruffians came into the Black
Ship. The den was becoming well-filled. This was Red Mike's cue.
"Them that wants can go in the other room," he announced. "Big crowd here
to-night, boys."
The newcomers had already seated themselves, so they remained where they
were. But shortly after Red Mike's invitation the stranger with the pulled-down
cap rose and casually entered the other room. Spotter finished his drink slowly.
Then he left his place and followed the stranger.
The inner room was virtually a vault, with a low stone ceiling and walls
of solid masonry. It was lighted by a large electric bulb which hung from the
ceiling. It was a fair-sized room, and contained several tables around the
walls.
There were exactly eleven men there when Spotter entered and slipped into
a chair beside the nearest table. Pedro was seated in a far corner, apparently
talking to a man opposite him. The gangster with the pulled-down cap was close
by, sullenly slouched over his table, apparently unaware what was going on. The
others were drinking and talking in rather low voices.
Red Mike entered and distributed bottles and glasses. When the proprietor
had gone, the room apparently remained the same, except for one fact - all its
occupants, with the exception of the slouching man with the cap, seemed to be
turning furtive glances in the direction of Spotter.
The crafty-faced fellow poured himself one drink and gulped down the
contents of his glass. He drank again, rather rapidly; finally he emptied the
bottle. As he was about to set it on the table, he tilted the top of the
bottle, and pointed it toward the man with the cap.
All eyes shifted toward the stranger. The man was leaning over the table,
ignoring his drink. His hands rested beneath the table. The other men in the
room began to move. Hardened grins appeared upon their faces. They were all
known to Spotter; he recognized the fact that his companions were the boldest
thugs of the underworld. He grinned also, for he was sure that guns would not
be needed to-night.
Only one man displayed too much eagerness for what was to come. That was
Pedro, the Mexican. He acted one second too soon. Spotter's motion had been the
signal for a sudden attack that would come with cleverly calculated stealth. But
Pedro, a look of grim vengeance appearing on his face, could not wait. He swung
from his chair and sprang upon the huddled man who wore the cap. The Mexican's
hand shot upward from his coat. The machete gleamed and came downward with a
sure, well-aimed stroke.
The blade never reached its mark. As Pedro hurled himself across the table
with amazing speed, the man with the cap slid quickly away from the wall where
he sat. The machete whizzed by, cutting the shoulder of the sweater. Pedro,
with all his weight behind the blow, fell forward upon the table.
Like a flash, the stranger was in the center of the room. He was standing,
head up now, with both hands buried in the fold at the bottom of his sweater.
His eyes were flashing as he glanced quickly around the room.
Only Spotter did not move. He grinned as he watched with his crafty eyes.
By quick action the unknown man had reached the floor while the others were
still rising. He stood there now, his shadow round and black upon the floor
before him.
This was only for an instant. The nine thugs were in motion. Those nearest
the stranger leaped with one accord. Two of them were drawing knives. The others
were hurling themselves to the spot where the stranger stood.
With a quick, short motion the hands came from the fold of the sweater.
The quick shots of two looming automatics burst the silence of the
low-ceilinged room. Spotter could see the spreading motion of the stranger's
hands as the bullets found their marks.
SOME of the cutthroats sprawled upon the floor. The others, springing
forward, fell in a mass upon their prey. The wiry man went down beneath the
heap. Spotter grunted in satisfaction as he saw knives gleaming, raised to
strike.
Then from the heap of men came a single pistol shot. Simultaneously the
light in the ceiling was extinguished. Glass clattered to the floor. The
overpowered victim had freed a hand, and his quick, instant aim had been true.
The room was plunged in darkness.
Spotter slipped toward the door. There were shouts coming from the floor.
Ten men, the giant Mexican included, were fighting one. But in that blackness
they could not identify the enemy they sought. A chair crashed against the
door. An oath came from Spotter.
The battler was free! He was fighting like a demon! Every blow he struck
was finding a mark. Bottles crashed. Tables hurtled against the walls. The lone
stranger was moving everywhere, using anything as a weapon. His foemen were
battling blindly. They were powerless.
Spotter could hear groans and sharp oaths. He realized that the conflict
would soon cease, with the one man victorious. Then he would be alone with the
enemy whom he had betrayed. Alone with The Shadow!
There was a thumping at the door. Spotter had cleverly bolted it when he
had entered, to cut off the only avenue of escape. Now he rose cautiously from
the floor, drew back the bolt, and let the door swing inward.
The light of the outer room revealed the faces of excited gangsters. They
leaped away from the door as it opened - only Red Mike remaining. He was the
one who had knocked. Spotter darted through the opening.
The proprietor of the Black Ship held a flashlight and a revolver. But
before he had an opportunity to enter to the rescue, the cutthroats swept him
aside as they came staggering out. A flying chair struck Pedro as the big
Mexican emerged, and he was stretched prone upon the floor.
Rowdies were crawling from the door - groaning, whining. Beaten men they
were. The last one collapsed in the entrance. Then a tall figure appeared from
the darkness. It raised the fallen ruffian and held him in mid-air. Red Mike
pointed his revolver, seeking an angle from which he could shoot without
striking the helpless man who was being used as a shield.
Then the body of the crippled thug was hurled forward. It landed against
Red Mike with terrific force, sending the proprietor to the floor.
The door of the inner room closed with a bang. The bolt clicked as it was
shot in place. The thick, iron-plated door blocked all entrance.
Then, to the ears of the men of the underworld, came a strange, ominous
sound. It could be heard above their excited voices - heard even though it was
muffled by the heavy barrier.
It was a hollow, mocking laugh - a chilling laugh - a laugh that made
those hardened crooks stare at one another in sudden alarm.
Spotter shuddered as he recognized the laugh of The Shadow!
CHAPTER XXIV
A HORDE ATTACKS
RED MIKE restored order. There were fully three dozen angry men in his
outer room - would-be killers who uttered mad threats as they saw their
comrades stagger from the inner room. These fighters of the underworld had
become suddenly silent when they had heard The Shadow's mocking laugh. Then
their shouts had recommenced - to stop when the proprietor of the Black Ship
held up a commanding hand.
"Quiet!" he howled.
The babel ceased. At Red Mike's summons, several men came to the aid of
the wounded crooks who had been in the fight. Not one of the ten had escaped
uninjured. Three of them were badly hurt; they were carried to the street.
The bullets from the automatics had been well aimed; most of them had
struck the arms and shoulders of the attackers. The Shadow had been swift to
cripple his foemen.
Only two of the tribe were capable of further battle. One of them was
Pedro. The big Mexican had not been hurt until the chair had struck him during
his rush to safety. He was again ready for action, recovered from the blow that
had sprawled him.
He still gripped his huge machete. He flourished the weapon and leered
venomously as he shouted to Red Mike.
"He is hurt!" cried Pedro. "He is hurt, I tell you! He is in there; where
we can get him!"
"Wait a minute," commanded Red Mike.
He turned toward the door that led to the street. Two men were standing
there.
"Look outside, boys," ordered Red Mike. "We don't want more gun play until
we know that things are quiet."
The men left the Black Ship. The proprietor listened at the door to the
inner room.
"We've got him, all right," he said quietly. "He was lucky, that's all. He
can't get out of there. We can take our time. Who is he?"
The question was put to Spotter.
"A stool," said the crafty-faced man. "I seen de guy once before. He's a
bad egg."
A chorus of snarls followed these words.
"Spotter knows 'em all," affirmed a thug. "He can pick 'em out when he
sees 'em. Let's get busy."
Spotter smiled. He had made the right statement. He was glad that he had
not mentioned the name of The Shadow. It was known to comparatively few in the
underworld; those who had heard the name held it in awe.
"Easy now, boys," commanded Red Mike. "Wait till we know that everything
is quiet."
One of the two men who had left now reappeared at the entrance.
"All right outside," he reported. "Geek is watchin'. Youse can go ahead."
Red Mike produced a hammer and chisel. He began to pry one of the iron
plates from the door.
"Watch out, Mike," warned Spotter. "He may pot you t'rough de door."
"Not with them little toy guns."
The iron sheet had been nailed fast to the top portion of the door. It
yielded as the proprietor worked upon it. With great effort, Red Mike forced it
free at the bottom and bent it upward. The crooks watched in silence.
At last there was a space more than a foot in extent, just above the
middle of the door. Red Mike turned from his work and marshaled his forces of
the underworld. He placed three men on each side of the door. They stood with
big revolvers. He moved the others to the corners and stationed two by the only
door that led to the street. Pedro insisted on being close by. He held the
machete as though he hoped to strike the first blow.
"Here you, Turkey," ordered Red Mike. "There's two bull's-eye lanterns
over behind the bar. Take one and give the other to another guy. Stand by the
door."
While the men were following instructions, Red Mike produced a fire ax and
a long piece of strong wire. He used a pair of pliers to fashion a loop in the
end of the wire.
"Come here, Spotter," he said. "You stand on the right side of the door.
I'm going to smash a hole. You know where the bolt lies. Shove the wire in and
hook the bolt after I make the hole."
"I ain't sure I can do it," said Spotter cautiously.
Pedro took the wire from his hand.
"I will do it," he said with a grin. He took his position beside the door
and made a few practice thrusts with the wire. "Go ahead. I am ready."
Red Mike lifted the ax.
"Work smooth, boys," he said. "First I crash the door. The Mex here pulls
the bolt. The guy won't be by the door; he'll be off in a corner. When you hear
the bolt click, come in low, so you'll be in back of that bottom sheet of iron.
"Then we rush the room. Guns and lights. Don't give him a chance. If he
does duck through - I don't see how he can, though - I'll get him with the ax."
Pedro grinned.
"Let him come," he said, brandishing the machete.
The men were alert. Thirty hardened fighters of the underworld were in
readiness. Even those in the corners were prepared, although they believed the
man in the inner room would never reach the doorway.
Red Mike swung the ax against the door. Once, then again, and again. As
the heavy strokes resounded, Spotter sidled across the room and reached the
door to the street.
"I'm goin' out," he told the men there. "I ain't got no rod; I ain't no
use here."
He peered through the crack of the outer door, watching the wood splinter
under the powerful strokes of Red Mike's ax. A small hole appeared in the door
of the inner room.
The proprietor of the Black Ship stepped well back from the door. The den
was tense and silent as he surveyed the work that he had done. He swung the ax;
then waited. Another blow; then another pause.
Spotter perceived the plan. The intermittent strokes of the ax would keep
the prisoner away from the door. Spotter grinned.
One more stroke of the ax. The hole was larger now. As Red Mike stepped
away, he pointed toward the hole. Pedro leered as he thrust the wire through
the gap and hooked the bolt.
THEN the unexpected happened. A hand came through the hole in the door and
flung a tubelike object into the outer room. Before the astounded crooks
realized what had happened, they were choking and coughing, gasping and
covering their eyes.
A tear bomb had been projected from the inner room. It had taken Red Mike
and his companions unaware. They were helpless - blinded - gasping as they
tried to scream.
The two outer guards staggered into the street, pushing Spotter aside.
Then the battered door swung open and a figure stepped into the outer room of
the Black Ship. His rough clothes were gone; he no longer wore the khaki
trousers and the coarse sweater. Instead, he was attired in a dark suit. Over
his face he wore a gogglelike mask that completely obscured his features.
He walked unsteadily through the gas-filled room, pushing aside the
choking men who staggered against him, stepping over those who lay helplessly
weeping upon the floor.
He stumbled as he reached the door to the street, but he caught himself
and came up the steps from the underground den. He gained the door ahead of
those who were blindly seeking to find it.
Spotter slipped away and crouched by the wall of the building. The Shadow
came out, pulled the mask from his face, and hurried down the alley.
"Stop him," screamed Spotter. "He's getting away!"
The two outer guards who had escaped after suffering from the first
effects of the gas had now recovered. Their guns spoke as they fired after the
speeding figure. It seemed to stagger. They ran after their quarry as he
reached the street at the end of the alley.
Some one stepped in the path of the escaping figure. It was "Geek," the
gangster who had gone out to see that all was clear. "Stop him!" screamed
Spotter as he joined in the chase.
Geek fell sprawling as a hard blow reached his chin. The dark-clad figure
disappeared from view. Spotter and his pals reached the street. They stared in
both directions. The street was not well-lighted; it was filled with black
shadows.
The crooks separated, one running in each direction. Spotter remained at
the entrance to the alley, beside the stunned form of Geek. He smiled wickedly
as he saw Geek's revolver lying on the ground. He picked up the .38 and looked
closely at the sidewalk.
There his sharp eyes detected a small, dark splotch. Blood!
"He's hurt!" muttered Spotter. "I thought de Mex stabbed him in de fight.
One of de boys must 'a' plugged him, too. Well, here's where Spotter finishes
him."
He saw another splotch a few feet farther on. Edging his way in the shadow
of the houses, he moved along the street until he came to a pair of steps. He
stopped and listened. Something - some one - was breathing heavily in the
shadowy darkness.
By the steps Spotter felt a human form. He set his automatic against the
huddled body and placed his finger on the trigger.
A firm hand caught his wrist. The gun dropped from Spotter's grasp.
Fingers clutched his throat, and he gasped as consciousness was wrested from
him.
A black form emerged from the steps and moved unsteadily down the street,
pausing every now and then as it leaned against the wall of a house. It reached
the corner and turned into another street, moving always the same - barely
visible, then half hidden. Its actions seemed weak and uncertain, as though its
power had been spent.
It appeared for one brief second and leaned against a lamp-post. Then it
tottered and disappeared into the blackness beyond.
But the spot where it had stood was marked - marked with a large splotch
of blood that showed deep crimson on the sidewalk.
CHAPTER XXV
TUESDAY - MIDNIGHT
HARRY VINCENT'S face was solemn as he removed the ear phones.
"Nothing doing, Bruce," he said.
"It's after eleven o'clock now," replied Bruce Duncan. "We should have had
a message by now. You've been sending all evening."
"Well, our work is cut out for us. That last train will reach Culbertville
pretty soon. But what do you think has happened? Maybe your set has gone wrong."
"I've tested it," said Vincent. "I'm sure it's all right. I think I know
what's happened, Bruce."
"What is it?"
"I think The Shadow himself sent us that message last night. Up to now I
believed that another person operated his end of the radio and communicated
with him. But last night's instructions came so quickly in reply to my message
that it seems pretty certain he was on the other key himself."
"Why hasn't he talked to us to-day or to-night? We've been in the house
constantly. You said we must lay low."
"I know all that, Bruce. The way I figure it is this. The Shadow knows
exactly where we are. He's on his way here himself. There's no need for
communication with headquarters. Last night's instructions were final. I
radioed that we had found the meeting place. I explained its location. There's
no reason why we should have been molested."
"Maybe we should have hung around the cabin this evening," suggested Bruce.
"No," replied Harry, "that might have been a tipoff. There's just one
thing to do now. The time has come."
Harry picked up his revolver from the table; the flashlight was already in
his pocket. Bruce went upstairs, where he had left his gun.
They walked through the woods until they saw the gleam of light from the
cabin. Bruce had made one trip that far earlier in the evening, and had
reported the light. Now they took a path that led to the right of the house.
"Perhaps we ought to go down and watch the bus arrive," said Bruce. "Then
we'll be sure our man is here."
"It's too far to the pike," objected Harry. "More than a half mile away
from the path between Ridge Road and the cabin."
"We can follow the man up here."
"Yes, but we can't watch the cabin at the same time. Our instructions are
to watch the meeting place."
"I can do that while you go down to the bus stop."
"Then we would be too far apart. I have a better plan, Bruce. Wait here a
minute."
They were below the cabin now, and their path had joined with the one that
went from the hut in the woods to the Ridge Road.
"I'll stay here," said Harry. "You go down to the road and wait there.
When our man comes along you will see him. He may have a light to find his way.
He will probably stop to look for the path. It shows plainly from the road, but
I suppose our man has never been here before."
"That's a good compromise," agreed Bruce. "I'd rather watch the pike to
make sure the bus stops. But we know the driver has let people out at this
road, and it's the only way to the cabin. I'll stay in the bushes and keep
watching. I'll only be a hundred yards away from you."
"That's right, Bruce. I'm going to move up a bit so I can actually see the
cabin. If you hear me call, or hear a pistol shot, come in a hurry. If you need
me for an emergency, use the same signal."
"What will I do when the man comes?"
"Follow him. I'll know when he walks along the path. If he has a light,
I'll know that he is coming."
"Suppose he has no light?"
"I'll hear him in the darkness. But I get your point, Bruce. You're
figuring that there might be more than one man."
"Right. We don't know what's going to happen. If the stranger is being
followed, you might mistake the second man for me."
"Well, when you reach this spot, whistle very low. Be sure you are far
enough behind your man so your presence will not be known."
Bruce moved silently toward Ridge Road. Harry stole along the path toward
the cabin. He could see the gleam from here; one of the front windows of the
house was also poorly screened from within.
Harry reached a spot not far from the cabin and took shelter among some
bushes. The night was calm and still. It was cloudy, and the light of the
waning moon was well-obscured.
Harry was wearing a wrist watch with a luminous dial; he consulted this
from time to time. At half past eleven he figured that the bus was leaving the
station. It should reach its stopping point within fifteen minutes.
Quarter of twelve, and still no sound from the cabin or from the road
below. It would require nearly ten minutes for the arriving man to reach this
spot.
Harry began to wonder about The Shadow. Was he here, too - that mysterious
stranger who seemed to live in darkness? Harry believed that The Shadow must be
close at hand - he usually was when trouble was brewing. The thought was
comforting. He and Bruce might need help before this adventure was ended.
The watch showed one minute of twelve. The stranger should be here now. He
should have been here before this. He should have passed by Duncan, at least.
WHAT was that? Some one coming along the path from the road? Harry could
hear stealthy footsteps close at hand. He waited breathlessly. Then came a low,
almost soundless, whistle.
It was Bruce Duncan.
Harry responded with a similar whistle. His friend followed the sound and
crouched beside him in the shadow of the bush.
"Where is our man?" Harry whispered.
"I don't know," was the soft reply. "I stayed by the road until a few
minutes ago. Then I was afraid he might have slipped by me."
"It's the meeting time now."
"Maybe the man didn't come."
"That's possible."
"My uncle's instructions specified that some of the men might not arrive."
Fifteen minutes went by. Harry Vincent became uneasy. Bruce Duncan
detected the fact.
"I know what you're thinking, Harry," he whispered. "You're wondering if
everything is all right up ahead. You want to do something about it. Well, I
agree with you. The man hasn't come along. The cabin is our only bet."
"Let's go," responded Harry.
The young men moved silently toward the cabin. They reached the porch and
crawled to the window on their hands and knees.
The tiny crack afforded very little vision; through it Harry could see
only part of an empty room. He looked around for Bruce. He saw his companion
turning the knob of the door.
"Come on," urged Bruce as the door yielded.
They found themselves in a large room - the only room in the entire cabin.
There was nothing there except a box on which stood a lighted lantern.
The effect of this discovery was stunning. The truth dawned upon Vincent
and Duncan simultaneously.
The cabin was deserted. The lantern had been left there, with the shades
partly raised, to mislead those who might see it from a distance.
The wily Bernardo Chefano had departed with his ape-faced man. He had
planned well, planned to trick every one who might have suspected the crimes he
had committed.
The cabin was not the meeting place.
The fourth man had gone to his doom!
CHAPTER XXVI
FELLOWS IS SUMMONED
AT four o'clock Thursday afternoon, Claude Fellows began to pace up and
down his private office. The insurance broker seldom became perturbed, but on
this occasion his chubby face expressed considerable worriment.
He had received no message from The Shadow since Tuesday morning.
This was something that had never happened before during a period of
activity. Furthermore, there had been no answer to urgent messages which
Fellows had sent to the office on Twenty-third Street.
The word which had come to Fellows on Tuesday morning had been contained
in a letter which bore the postmark of Monday night. It had simply stated that
Harry Vincent had made a direct report by wireless, that he had discovered the
place which he had been seeking, and that Fellows would receive further word by
Wednesday.
But on Wednesday, instead of receiving terse instructions from The Shadow,
Fellows had been called by Harry Vincent - called by long distance from a town
in Pennsylvania. Vincent's report had been disconcerting. He had not located
the meeting place, after all. Things had gone wrong Tuesday night. He had lost
the communication which he had established.
Vincent had spoken rather vaguely over the telephone, and Fellows had
promised to reply by letter. For the present he could only advise Vincent to
wait and to exert the utmost caution in all his actions. His final instructions
were to report to him if there were any new developments.
Fellows had delivered a letter himself, making the trip to the vacant
office in the building on Twenty-third Street. No reply had arrived on
Wednesday. He had repeated the operation the next day, to no avail.
Now it was Friday afternoon. He had sent a third letter in the morning.
Still no reply. Fellows had good cause to be worried. What had become of The
Shadow?
A clipping lay upon the insurance broker's desk. He had clipped it from a
paper that morning. It stated that Harrison Glover, a real-estate man of
Scranton, Pennsylvania, had mysteriously disappeared.
The missing man had left home Monday afternoon, stating that he would be
home Wednesday night. He had not come back. There were important reasons why he
should have been back in Scranton at the time he had stated. His case had been
reported to the police, but they had no clue regarding him.
"The fourth man," murmured Fellows. "Missing. Vincent was mistaken when he
reported he had discovered the meeting place. The Shadow has failed to appear."
It was the first time in Fellows's experience that such well-laid plans
had gone wrong. Where was The Shadow? In New York? On another enterprise,
relying solely upon Vincent?
Fellows shook his head. It seemed more likely that The Shadow had met with
foul play, The chubby man mopped his forehead with his handkerchief.
The telephone bell rang. Fellows lifted the receiver of the instrument.
"Mr. Fellows?" came a voice.
"This is Mr. Fellows."
"I am Doctor Wells, of Merwyn, New Jersey. Are you a friend of Lamont
Cranston, who lives near here?"
"I am."
"Mr. Cranston is in a very serious condition. He has mentioned your name
twice. I would appreciate it if you would come to his home as soon as possible."
"I shall come immediately. What is the trouble?"
"An accident. I shall explain later. There is a train from the
Pennsylvania Station at four thirty-five. Mr. Cranston's car will meet you at
Rahway."
Fellows's mind was working actively as he hurried to the depot. An
accident to Lamont Cranston, coincident with the disappearance of The Shadow!
He had not thought of it before. The incidents of his previous visit to the
millionaire's home now loomed large in his memory.
THE physician met Fellows in the hallway of Lamont Cranston's home. He
took the insurance broker to one side, and ushered him into a small room where
they were joined by Richards, the millionaire's valet.
"Mr. Cranston is sleeping now," explained Doctor Huston Wells. "We must
not disturb him for a while. But matters have been serious. Only servants in
the house - although Richards here is very capable. But the circumstances are
most unusual, and when I heard that Mr. Cranston had spoken your name, I
questioned Richards. I learned that you have long been a friend of Mr.
Cranston, so I summoned you."
"I am glad you did," replied Fellows. "Tell me what has happened."
"You must keep the matter strictly confidential," said the doctor.
"Mr. Fellows will do that, sir," put in Richards. "He has had business
dealings with Mr. Cranston for several years. They are very good friends. When
Mr. Cranston spoke this morning, I was sure that he wanted Mr. Fellows here."
"I shall preserve absolute secrecy," promised Fellows.
"Good," said the doctor. "Tell what you know, Richards."
"It was on Monday night," said the man. "Mr. Cranston went upstairs to his
room in the tower. He has a wireless set there, you know. It is a hobby with
him. He was sending and receiving messages until about nine o'clock. Then he
hurriedly left the house. He had ordered Stanley, the chauffeur, to be waiting
with the car. I was at the door, and I heard him tell Stanley to lose no time
getting in to New York."
"I have questioned Stanley," interposed Doctor Wells. "His story coincides
with what Richards is telling you."
"Mr. Cranston told Stanley to come in town on Tuesday night and wait for
him at the usual parking space on Forty-eighth Street," continued Richards.
"Stanley did so; he waited until long after midnight, wondering why Mr.
Cranston did not arrive. At two o'clock, a cab drove up. Mr. Cranston alighted
and entered the limousine. Stanley was holding the door open; he says that Mr.
Cranston stumbled as he entered the big car.
"Mr. Cranston told Stanley to hurry home, which he did. I was awake; the
other servants had gone to bed. I heard the car coming up the drive and I
opened the front door. I saw Stanley get out and open the door of the car. But
Mr. Cranston did not appear. I walked down the front steps and joined Stanley.
"We both looked in the back of the car. For a moment, I thought that there
was no one there. It was all dark, and no one moved. Then I turned on the light.
Mr. Cranston was lying in a corner. His coat and vest were open; there was blood
all over the side of his shirt.
"I thought for a minute that he was dead. He was limp when Stanley and I
brought him in the house. I called for Doctor Wells, who came here immediately.
Mr. Cranston seemed very badly hurt, sir."
"He had four knife wounds, and a bullet in his left side," announced the
physician. "One cut, on his left shoulder, was a nasty one. The bullet caused a
lot of trouble. The case was a bad one because he had evidently received the
wounds several hours before I arrived. He had suffered greatly from loss of
blood.
"When he regained consciousness, Cranston became delirious. He said
nothing coherent. I was afraid that he would not survive, but his vitality is
wonderful. His condition was critical Tuesday and Wednesday. It improved a bit
Thursday, but it was not until this morning that he spoke so we could
understand him. Then he mentioned your name twice."
"And spoke as though he wanted to see you, sir," added Richards.
"What is his condition now?" inquired Fellows, with anxiety in his voice.
"It is improving rapidly," said Doctor Wells.
"How soon will he be better?"
"I cannot tell. It may be a matter of weeks."
Fellows suppressed a groan.
"It depends a great deal upon how he is when he awakens," explained the
physician. "The wounds are doing nicely. The fever has been the greatest
complication. I hope that it will lessen, now that he is sleeping quietly. If
it passes away rapidly, he will be sitting up within two days. Possibly
to-morrow. If it continues, we may have a long siege."
"I shall wait until he wakes," declared Fellows.
"Very good," responded the doctor. "But I have wanted to talk with some
friend of Mr. Cranston's regarding this affair. What should be done about it? I
have hesitated to report it to the police."
"Don't do that," said Fellows promptly. "He was wounded in New York. This
is New Jersey. It would be best to keep the matter quiet."
"Yet steps should be taken to discover the men who are responsible for Mr.
Cranston's injuries." The doctor was solicitous, but Fellows was thinking
rapidly.
"Let him decide that matter," he said. "He knows what happened and where
it occurred. Has he said anything that might be a clue?"
"Not a word," the doctor replied. "Am I correct, Richards?"
"You are correct, doctor," replied the valet.
"Since it happened Monday night," said Fellows, "it would be wise to let
the matter rest for the present. I say that emphatically. You have called upon
me as a friend of Mr. Cranston. I know him well enough to believe that he would
agree with me."
"Very well," said the doctor.
FELLOWS dined with Doctor Wells, and later in the evening, Richards
informed them that Mr. Cranston had awakened. They went upstairs, and the
wounded millionaire greeted them with a feeble smile on his pale face.
"Fellows," he said weakly.
The insurance broker sat down.
"Don't let him talk much," whispered the physician. "Don't say anything
that will worry him."
"How are things going?" asked the man in the bed.
"Very well," replied Fellows.
The head turned, and two eyes peered searchingly at Fellows. Under that
glance the insurance broker felt uneasy. Cranston was pale and weak, but his
eyes seemed twin fires that pierced through the wanness.
"Fellows," said the millionaire, in a slow voice, "in my vest pocket you
will find a slip of paper. It bears a telephone number. Call it. Tell the man
who answers you that I am - that I am not well. Ask him to come here. He is a
wireless operator. I want him to take charge of my set - upstairs."
Lamont Cranston closed his eyes wearily.
"The man I want," he said, "is an old friend of mine - a friend whom you
have never met. I shall ask him to write you - regarding insurance policies -
and other matters. Be sure that he comes here. Be sure to reply immediately to
any letters that he sends you."
The millionaire ceased speaking. He seemed to be half asleep.
"Come," whispered Doctor Wells.
The insurance broker found the paper in the vest pocket. He opened it at
the telephone table downstairs. He called the number. A quiet voice replied.
Fellows explained the situation.
"I shall come to-night," said the man at the other end of the wire. "You
may count on my arriving within two hours."
Fellows was thoughtful as he rode back to Rahway in Lamont Cranston's car.
He was wondering about the phone call he had made. The voice that had answered
was one that he had never heard previously. He felt that he would like to meet
the man to whom he had spoken.
The phone call had relieved Fellows's worries; not because of the voice,
but because of the call itself. Fellows had a remarkable memory when telephone
numbers were concerned.
The number which he had called was the same number that he had given to
Harry Vincent, the night that young man had kept watch at the home of Isaac
Coffran.
CHAPTER XXVII
NEW DISCOVERIES
HARRY VINCENT stared gloomily at Bruce Duncan while they were eating their
breakfast.
"Next Tuesday is coming soon," remarked Harry.
"Why remind me of it?" replied his friend. "If we don't do any more than
we have during the last three days, next Tuesday can come and go without
meaning anything to us."
"What can we do? We've lost contact by radio, and we've been instructed to
use caution. We can't go prowling through the woods without exciting suspicion,
can we?"
"Did you send a wireless message last night?"
"Yes, and I listened for a reply. Up to ten o'clock. No result. So I gave
it up."
"You received a letter when we were in town yesterday morning. Whom was it
from?"
"Fellows. He simply said to keep on lying low. I think something has gone
wrong, Bruce. It's Saturday now, and we've been kept virtually idle since
Tuesday night. It seems to me The Shadow has slipped out of the picture."
"Maybe he ran into trouble, Harry. He's looked for it often enough. He ran
some big chances that night he pulled me out of Isaac Coffran's house."
"The Shadow usually manages to win out, Bruce. But this time it looks
different. I'm going to run down to the village to see if there's another
letter there. Unless Fellows gives us some definite instructions, we'll have to
act for ourselves."
Bruce Duncan was thoughtful.
"Harry," he said, "we can't be far wrong in our location. The bus driver
told us that he stopped at Ridge Road to let a man off on Tuesday night. The
only reason that we haven't found the place is because we haven't looked."
"I agree, Bruce. But if we run into Chefano again, he'll be wise to the
whole thing. You know that."
"If we had a plane, we could fly over this locality and make observations.
You can see a lot from above."
Vincent grunted contemptuously.
"Sure you can, and what would Chefano think if he heard a plane buzzing in
circles overhead? But wait! You've given me an idea. You know that mountain in
back of us?"
"The one they call Rocky Summit?"
"That's the one. When I was in town yesterday, I saw one of the natives
pointing it out to a stranger. He said that there's a path up the mountain.
There's a clearing near the top, and you can see the whole valley from there.
That's better than an airplane."
"We'd be pretty far away to observe anything."
"Not if we had powerful field glasses. We'll go downtown and see if we can
buy any."
THEY were fortunate when they arrived at the village. Josh Stevens had an
excellent pair of field glasses for sale.
"I had an order for them two years ago," he said. "When they came in, the
customer had left town. I kept them anyway."
The morning mail had brought no letter from Fellows. So Vincent and Duncan
set out for Rocky Summit. Reaching the highest point on Mountain Pike, they
turned up a side road and reached the path that led up the mountain. Very few
persons made the ascent; the climb was not difficult, but the mountain was
infested with rattlesnakes. The young men wore leather puttees and carried long
sticks.
They found that the top of the mountain formed an excellent lookout. In a
short while, they located the top of their cottage. The cabin on Seth
Wilkinson's property could not be seen because of the trees.
"That's the trouble," observed Bruce. "We're looking down at an angle. I
can't even see the Ridge Road."
"There's a portion of it, where it leaves the pike."
"Yes. That's plain enough. Look there, Harry. What's that below the road -
that old gray building?"
Harry adjusted the glasses.
"It looks like a mass of ruins," he said. "There's a little white building
alongside of it."
Duncan took the field glasses and made observations.
"It looks like an old stone house," he said. "Stone base, probably, with
the top floors wood. There's been a fire there. Not much left of it except the
ground floor. I can't figure what the white building is."
Harry Vincent drew a paper from his pocket.
"This may tell us," he said. "It's a back number of Culbertville's weekly
newspaper. I was in their office a few days ago, making careful inquiries. I
mentioned that I was interested in this part of the country, and they told me
they'd obtain an old copy of their paper that contained information about this
locality. I picked the paper up this morning, after I left the post office. Put
it in my pocket and forgot it."
He found the desired article and read halfway through it. His face showed
sudden interest as he exclaimed:
"Here it is, Bruce!"
"Read it," replied his companion, still looking through the glasses. Harry
read:
"Not far from Culbertville is the Marsden house, now a blackened heap of
stone. It was built on the site of an old Mennonite church that had been
abandoned many years before. About fifty years ago, Harper Marsden, an
eccentric resident of Culbertville, purchased a tract of land adjoining the old
church property and chose that spot to build his home.
"The first floor was of stone, raised above an extensive basement, but the
upper stories were made of wood. The building was erected close beside the old
cemetery, which was all that remained after the church had been torn down.
"Harper Marsden lived there for several years; he was a wealthy bachelor
and seemed to like his melancholy abode. He said that it would be his resting
place, and in anticipation of his death he erected a mausoleum near his home.
His prophecy that he would be buried there came true, but not as he expected
it. The house was destroyed by fire, and Harper Marsden died amid the flames.
His body was never recovered; it was probably lost beneath the stone wall at
the rear, which crumbled into a mass.
"Since that event, no attempt has been made to restore the property. The
front of the basement was not completely destroyed; it is still covered by the
first floor. When the ruins were searched in hopes of discovering the body of
the owner, two men were injured by falling stones. Since then the place has
been avoided as dangerous.
"The property stands back from Mountain Pike, below Ridge Road. It was
reached by a lane extending from Ridge Road, but the byway has fallen into
disuse and has long since become little more than a path. The iron fence
erected by Harper Marsden still surrounds the property, including the ancient
graveyard."
Bruce Duncan was still studying the scene below when Harry Vincent
concluded his reading. He acted as though he had not heard a single word.
"Want me to read it again?"
"No," replied Bruce. "I heard it. That's why I'm so interested. I'm
looking at the old cemetery."
"Can you see it from here?"
"Yes, to the left of the mausoleum. The tombstones look like little gray
bricks. There's some one sitting on one of them."
"What!"
"Some one sitting on one of them," repeated Bruce. "A man, sitting on a
tombstone. He looks very small, even with these field glasses. He's moving now.
"Harry, he's walking over by the mausoleum. He's running, now, toward the
old ruins. Harry, it's the ape-faced man! He's gone!"
Harry seized the glasses. The object of his search had disappeared.
"Are you sure about it, Bruce?"
"Positive," Bruce declared. "Do you remember when the creature ran off
through the woods, last Monday? It seemed to hop along the ground. I recognized
that stride just now."
"I see something," remarked Harry. "A man outside the building. A man with
a gray shirt. Chefano wore a gray flannel shirt when we saw him. It may be
Chefano. He's gone now."
They took turns watching through the glasses, but neither saw any further
motion near the ruins of the old mansion. They decided to descend.
"It's the meeting place, all right," declared Bruce as they walked down
the path. "The old lane must be close to Mountain Pike. We went past it without
noticing it. That's why we missed the man the other night. If we'd waited for
the bus, we would have seen him."
The more they considered the matter, the more positive they were that they
had located the place they sought. To make sure, they drove up Ridge Road and
found the abandoned lane. Leaving the car, they walked cautiously along until
they discovered the iron fence, which was constructed of iron bars, pointed at
the top.
"Stop!" whispered Harry. "Look along the fence, Bruce."
On the other side of the pickets stood the ape-faced man. The creature's
clawlike hands gripped the bars. Its head turned, and it saw the two men in the
lane.
With an ugly snarl the brute ran along behind the fence until it neared
the intruders.
"Come along," exclaimed Harry. "Back to the car. Chefano may be down here
any minute."
Bruce glanced over his shoulder as he ran. The ape-faced creature was
evidently human. It was clad in old, ill-fitting garments.
Back in the cottage, Bruce talked of their discoveries while Harry tapped
a call on the wireless. It was late in the afternoon - time to go through the
routine of sending a message, even though there was no hope of a reply.
"The creature is safe inside those bars," said Bruce. "That's why Chefano
is keeping it there at present. I figure that he lived in the cabin so as to
keep away from the meeting place except on Tuesday nights. But after that
trouble in the road, he moved into the old ruins. I don't think he really
suspected us of knowing anything. Our trouble with the ape-man was too
obviously accidental. He played safe by moving; that's all.
"Did you see those gates in the fence? They were closed and locked with a
chain. That must be the entrance to the place. On Tuesday night, the gates will
be unlocked."
He ended his comments when Harry Vincent adjusted the ear phones. Both men
lighted cigars. Suddenly, Harry became alert. He listened intently for a minute.
Then he sprang to the key.
"At last!" he exclaimed. "A reply!"
With his eyes on the code before him, The Shadow's agent worked with keen
rapidity as he sent his report of the new discoveries.
CHAPTER XXVIII
THE FIFTH MAN
AT one o'clock Tuesday afternoon, Harry Vincent and Bruce Duncan were
eating lunch in the Culbertville restaurant. They were seated at their
customary table in the corner, by the window. Their voices were low, for there
were other diners in the restaurant.
"To-night," said Harry, "we have another opportunity. Let's hope we can do
better than we did last week."
"Our orders are just the same," replied his companion. "Watch the meeting
place and intercept the fifth man."
"Yes, but we are now sure of the meeting place."
"We thought we were sure of it last Tuesday night."
"You don't think we're wrong about it now, do you?"
"Don't forget one thing, Harry. This fellow Chefano is as clever as the
devil himself. For all we know, he may be laughing at us this very minute."
Harry shook his head.
"Don't be foolish, Bruce," he said. "Everything is all right now. Our one
worry is how we are going to handle the situation. But I believe that will work
out well. To-night we will receive our final instructions."
"We didn't get any last Tuesday night - when we needed them most."
"Something was wrong then. The Shadow expected to be here; at least that's
my opinion. But he didn't arrive."
"Maybe he won't be here to-night."
Harry Vincent did not reply.
"Suppose," added Bruce Duncan quizzically, "that we do not receive further
instructions. What are we to do when the fifth man arrives? Follow him or warn
him?"
"Follow him, of course."
"It would be better to warn him."
"Impossible," said Harry. "We couldn't do that in the dark. Remember, each
of these men has come secretly to the meeting place. Another is due to-night. He
will be suspicious of everything until he reaches his final destination. If we
should step out of the darkness and speak to him, he would look upon us as
enemies."
"We might wait for him here at the station."
"That would be better, but even then he would be suspicious. Most
important of all, our orders are specific; we are to begin our watch before
midnight. We can't be out by the old ruins and be here, too."
Bruce Duncan shrugged his shoulders. Somehow he doubted Vincent's faith in
the wisdom of The Shadow. It was true that Bruce owed his life to the timely aid
The Shadow had given that night at Isaac Coffran's. But the failure of a week
ago had somewhat curbed Bruce's enthusiasm.
A TRAIN pulled into the station across the street. It was the afternoon
local from Harrisburg. Bruce Duncan studied the few passengers who alighted.
One was a heavy-set man with a ruddy complexion who stood on the station
platform and surveyed the scene curiously.
Bruce watched the stranger. The man walked over to the bus and talked for
a minute with the driver. Then he crossed the street and disappeared from
Bruce's view.
Harry Vincent was reading a newspaper. Bruce Duncan slipped quietly from
his chair and left the restaurant. He moved across the street and approached
the bus driver.
"Hello," said the driver. "Going to ride out with me?"
"No; we have our car here in town. I just came over to say 'Hello.'"
"Reckon I'll have another passenger for Ridge Road to-night. It seems like
I let somebody off there once a week."
"You mean on your last trip?"
"Yep. Some fellow was just talking to me a couple of minutes ago. Wanted
to know what time the last bus went. Said he was going out to Ridge Road. I
told him I stopped there."
"Did you know the man?"
"Never saw him before. He talked like an Englishman. Stranger around here,
I reckon. He just went down the street, looking over the town. Well, he won't
find much to do around this place. Might as well go out on this trip and wander
around the woods. This town is as slow as they make them."
The driver waved good-by as he climbed into his seat and started the bus.
Harry Vincent, lowering his paper, noticed that Bruce had gone. He glanced
out the window just as Bruce waved good-by to the bus driver and walked out to
him.
"What's up, Bruce?" he asked. "I didn't see you leave the restaurant. Why
the conversation with the bus driver?"
Duncan explained everything that had happened. Harry whistled.
"I'll bet that's our man!" he exclaimed. "He must have arrived early.
Where did he go, Bruce?"
"I don't know," replied Duncan, "but he can't be far away. Let's visit
some of the stores. Maybe we'll find him."
They discovered the Englishman in the corner drug store. He was talking to
the clerk. Harry Vincent purchased some cigars; he and Bruce lighted them and
stood by to listen to the conversation.
"I don't know where you can hire any autos round here, sir," said the
clerk, addressing the Englishman.
"I merely desired to make a short journey," replied the stranger. "I
supposed that a motor car would be available. I understand that the scenery is
beautiful in this district, and I intended to ride up toward the mountains."
"We are going that way," said Harry, joining in the discussion. "We would
be glad to have you accompany us."
The Englishman studied the two young men.
"I should be delighted to accept your invitation," he said. "But I should
not care to inconvenience you. I wish to return to the village; otherwise I
should have been a passenger on the motor bus. But I learned that it does not
return until late in the evening."
"We are coming back to town shortly," said Harry. "We are living in a
cottage several miles from here. We intended to run out there and then return
some time before dinner. It would be a pleasure to have you with us."
This argument persuaded the Englishman. He left the store with Vincent and
Duncan, but insisted upon riding in the rumble seat so that he could have a
better view of the surrounding country. Harry drove slowly along Mountain Pike.
As they neared the foothills, Harry watched the Englishman in the mirror
at the front of the car. He could see that the man was interested in something;
so he drove very slowly as they neared Ridge Road. As they passed that highway,
the man in the rumble seat turned and looked back over his shoulder until they
had rounded the next bend.
HARRY kept on until they reached the highest point of Mountain Pike, then
he turned the car and drove back to the road that led to the cottage. He
invited the Englishman into their house. The guest looked curiously at the
radio equipment.
"A sending station?" he said. "Quite interesting."
"Yes," said Vincent. "We are interested in wireless. This is a good spot
to experiment with it."
"Not many persons living hereabouts, I suppose."
"Very few. There are some unoccupied cabins in the woods below. Beyond
that, across Ridge Road, is the deserted ruin of an old house."
"Indeed. That's curious. Ruins have always interested me. I have seen many
in England, and the Continent."
"In Russia?" questioned Bruce Duncan suddenly.
The Englishman started. He looked sharply at his questioner. Then his
natural indifference returned.
"Yes, I have been to Russia," he drawled.
"And that is why you are here now," added Harry.
A curious expression appeared upon the Englishman's face. For a moment, he
appeared to be alarmed.
"I don't quite understand," he said.
Bruce Duncan no longer doubted that the Englishman was the fifth man.
"Why did you come so early?" he questioned. "You are not expected until
midnight."
The Englishman did not reply.
"We are glad that you arrived early," continued Bruce. "We have been
waiting for you - to warn you. Didn't you suspect that something was wrong when
you received word to come before the time that was originally stated?"
The Englishman's face expressed concern.
"My name," continued the young man, "is Bruce Duncan. I am the nephew of
Harvey Duncan, who was one of the seven men who were summoned to meet in the
old ruined house. My uncle died. He had the names of the other six men. The
list was stolen after his death. Since then, four men have been lured to their
doom. You were to be the fifth."
The Englishman slumped into a chair. He could tell that Bruce Duncan was
speaking the truth. He seemed in a daze.
"An impostor," said Bruce, "is taking my uncle's place. He has the stolen
badge that will identify him as the proper man to receive the wealth from
Russia. But he knew that six others would arrive on the appointed night. By
removing them, he could keep the secret to himself, and appropriate the shares
that belonged to them. Hence he evolved the fiendish scheme of notifying each
man to appear beforehand. He set the meeting times a week apart. We are
attempting to frustrate his plans."
The Englishman rose from the chair and became suddenly alert. He extended
his hand to Bruce Duncan.
"My name is Hubert Weston," he said. "I was a major in the British army
during the war. I was in Russia, prior to the revolution. I saved the life of
Prince Samanov, one of the czar's generals. I promised him that I would obey
any summons that came from him or any one whom he might designate. The proof of
its authenticity was to be the mark of his signet."
THE Englishman drew a folded paper from his pocket. It was a message,
stating the time of the meeting place, and naming the spot as the old ruined
house below Ridge Road. The note contained complete directions for reaching the
place before midnight.
"The time was set for a week from Wednesday," observed Bruce as he noted
the date on the message.
"Correct," responded Major Weston. "But I had no idea that others were
expected. Hence I would actually have been surprised at the presence of other
passengers on the bus, and would have had no suspicion that anything was wrong,
should I have come alone."
Bruce Duncan was studying the seal at the bottom of the message. The
Englishman laid another sheet of paper beside it.
"This message followed," he said. "You will observe that the impression of
the seal in the wax appears to be identical. Yet from what you say, it must be a
clever imitation. It would not be difficult to duplicate the seal after one had
seen the original impression."
The second message was inscribed in handwriting that closely resembled the
penmanship of the first. It stated that the meeting time had been changed.
"The new date is to-night," remarked Bruce.
The Englishman was staring at Harry Vincent, who was busy with the
wireless key. Bruce Duncan explained the situation, telling of his own
adventures and the important part The Shadow had played in these affairs.
"Marvelous!" exclaimed Major Weston, enthusiastically. "I owe you much,
Mr. Duncan, for coming to my assistance. I am quite willing to rely upon your
judgment. I am glad that I have been warned beforehand. I shall agree to abide
by any instructions that you receive over the wireless."
Harry Vincent completed his message. He was wearing the ear phones while
he jotted down the reply which he was receiving.
"I have full instructions," he announced. "The arrival of Major Weston had
made it unnecessary for us to watch the old ruined house. We are to wait here
and be cautious for another week. It is probable that the sixth man will arrive
next Tuesday. We must intercept him, also, if possible. The Russian, we now
know, is due a week from Wednesday. That is the night that we shall attack."
"But to-night," objected Bruce. "What about tonight? Won't Chefano be
suspicious when Major Weston does not arrive?"
"That matter was covered in the message," replied Harry. "The
nonappearance of one man will mean nothing. Chefano has no proof that Major
Weston received the messages that were sent him. Nor has he any proof that
Major Weston intended to keep the appointment. One man less means one less
crime. He will surely wait until the Russian appears. This plan which The
Shadow has arranged will protect Major Weston."
There was a note of finality in Harry Vincent's voice. The plan did not
satisfy Bruce Duncan. He looked inquiringly at Major Weston. To his surprise,
the Englishman agreed with Vincent.
"I am satisfied," he said. "I shall be pleased to remain with you until a
week from Wednesday night - the time originally appointed. I shall accompany
you to the meeting place on that night."
CHAPTER XXIX
LAMONT CRANSTON DISAPPEARS
DOCTOR WELLS seemed highly pleased with the condition of his injured
patient, Lamont Cranston.
"You have been improving rapidly," he said, as be stood at the foot of the
bed. "I have rarely witnessed such a rapid recovery."
"Excellent," observed the millionaire, who was leaning against propped-up
pillows. "How soon will I be on my feet?"
"You are almost on your feet now," replied the physician. "You have walked
about the room to-day. But you must not try to be active for a while. Let me
see. This is Tuesday afternoon. It was a week ago last night that you were
injured. Suppose we wait until next Tuesday, before you leave the house."
"All right," yawned the millionaire.
"Has Mr. Fellows been here again?" questioned the doctor.
"Not since the time you summoned him last week," answered Cranston. "He
brought Burbank here, you know. Burbank has communicated with him."
"Oh, yes; Burbank, the wireless operator. I haven't seen him yet."
"He spends most of his time upstairs. Wireless is my hobby, you know. I
experiment frequently. I feel satisfied to know that my work is going on, even
though I am incapable of attending to it."
"You may be able to take a hand at it yourself, by the end of the week,"
said the doctor.
"That's encouraging. The way I feel to-day, I could be up and around -
outdoors - anywhere."
"Forget that idea," ordered Doctor Wells.
The door opened, and Richards entered. The servant gave a sheet of paper
to Lamont Cranston.
"Mr. Burbank sent this down, sir," stated Richards. "He said it came in at
three o'clock."
Cranston's keen eyes scanned the paper before him. Then the millionaire
tossed the message on the bed. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back as
though engaged in deep thought. Doctor Wells could see the paper. It was
inscribed with a series of dots and dashes - a wireless code.
Suddenly the millionaire seized a pencil. He wrote rapidly on the reverse
side of the paper. Doctor Wells was amazed at his remarkable activity. Cranston
paused occasionally as though inspired by sudden thought, then he continued to
inscribe his series of dots and dashes. He passed the paper to Richards.
"Tell Burbank to send this."
Doctor Wells noticed that the injured man seemed weary as he laid his head
against the pillows.
"Don't try to be mentally active," he said. "It will prove quite as bad as
physical strain. I advise you to forget your wireless for a few days."
Lamont Cranston seemed to be giving the matter consideration. Doctor Wells
turned to Richards, who had just returned from the wireless room.
"Richards," he said, "can I rely upon you to see that Mr. Cranston does
not overdo himself? Has he been using much mental effort - particularly in
reference to the wireless upstairs?"
The valet hesitated. He looked at his master.
"Tell him the truth, Richards," said Cranston, with a smile.
"Well, sir," admitted the valet, "he has seen Mr. Burbank quite often. I
would say, sir, that it has spruced him up a bit. But he seems to become very
tired at times, sir."
"Very bad," said the physician. "You must forget this hobby of yours until
the end of the week, Mr. Cranston. I am not sure that it is advisable for
Burbank to be here."
The man in the bed motioned wearily to Richards.
"Bring me a sheet of paper and my green fountain pen. An envelope, also.
Remember, the green fountain pen."
He received the articles.
"Now, Richards," he said, as he began to write, slowly and laboriously,
"go and bring Burbank here."
Lamont Cranston was sealing the letter in the envelope when the wireless
operator arrived.
"Any reply to that last message?" asked the millionaire.
"Yes," said Burbank. "Here it is."
He showed a paper that bore a short series of dots and dashes. Cranston
smiled.
"That's an O.K.," he said. He wrote a short reply. "Send this - it will be
your last message. You have your car here, haven't you, Burbank?"
"Yes."
"After you've sent the message, come downstairs and bring your car from
the garage. You can take Doctor Wells to his home; it will save Stanley another
trip. I won't need you any more, Burbank. We'll close the station until the end
of the week. Take this letter into town with you; I've already addressed it to
Mr. Fellows."
Richards helped the injured man as he tried to push the banked-up pillows
from beneath his head. Lamont Cranston turned on his side and closed his eyes.
His recent efforts seemed to have taken all his strength.
"You have done wisely," said the physician quietly. "You need a great deal
of rest. Your strength has merely begun to return. I shall count on Richards to
see that you do not overexert yourself during the next few days."
The doctor pulled down the shades at the windows. He motioned Richards and
Burbank from the room. At the door he glanced toward the man in the bed. His
patient was quiet - possibly asleep, thought the doctor.
One minute after the door had closed, Lamont Cranston sat upright. His
body shook with silent laughter. He slipped silently from his bed and made his
way to a closet in the corner. He took clothes from their hooks and dressed
with amazing rapidity.
Unlocking a table drawer, he removed various articles - a small rolled bag
of tools, an automatic revolver, a flashlight, and a bulging wallet. He moved
silently toward a window. The sash moved upward without noise.
ABOUT ten minutes after Doctor Wells had left his patient apparently
asleep, Burbank came down from the wireless room. He went to the garage for his
car. The physician joined him at the door of the house. The quiet wireless
operator drove Doctor Wells to his home, which stood on a curving lane in the
town of Merwyn.
The physician congratulated himself as he walked up the steps of his
residence. He had handled a rather difficult patient in a most satisfactory way.
"He must have rest," murmured the practitioner. "I am glad he finally
accepted my verdict. He went to sleep like a child. He thinks he has recovered
his strength, yet the least effort tires him. I actually don't believe he is
capable of walking downstairs alone, at this very minute."
It never occurred to Doctor Wells that he might have watched Burbank's
coupe as it rolled up the lane toward the wide boulevard a block away. Had he
done so, he would have been amazed.
For when the car halted at the stop street and waited for the flow of
traffic to cease, a surprising occurrence took place. The cover of the rumble
seat opened slightly as though some one was peering from within, to make sure
that no one was near by.
Then the back of the car opened wider still, and just as Burbank was
shifting into low gear, a figure emerged. A man dressed in a dark suit dropped
into the street just as the car started forward. Then with quick steps the
figure reached the sidewalk and moved toward the boulevard.
If Doctor Wells had observed this incident, he would hardly have
recognized the agile man as Lamont Cranston, for he would not have believed it
possible that the millionaire could have acted with so much nimbleness.
In fact, the physician could scarcely believe that his ears did not
deceive him when he answered the telephone at eight o'clock that evening, and
heard the voice of Richards.
"Mr. Cranston has gone!" was the valet's amazing statement. "His door has
not been opened, and his windows are still shut. No one has seen him go! No one
has heard him go! But he was not there when we brought his dinner this evening.
I can't imagine what has happened, sir. Yet I am sure that Mr. Cranston has
disappeared!"
CHAPTER XXX
SINISTER SHADOWS
RAIN was dripping from the branches of the trees above the abandoned lane
that led from Ridge Road. A downpour had begun at dusk; now, early in the
evening, it had settled into a steady drizzle.
The old roadway was pitch black as a man sloshed through the puddles, his
heavy boots spattering water in all directions. He appeared to be familiar with
the road and indifferent to its condition. His splashing footsteps seemed to
echo behind him.
He felt his way along the iron fence until he reached the gates which were
open. Still in darkness, he sloshed along the mud of a long-forgotten driveway
until he reached the ruin which had once been the home of Harper Marsden.
Even in the darkness, the old gray walls were slightly visible. They
seemed silent and forlorn as they loomed toward the falling rain. The nearest
corner of the old building was higher than the rest; it had evidently been a
tower extending the full height of the building - a tower of stone that had
alone survived the devastating flames.
The man passed by the front of the building and reached a flight of stone
steps near the further side. The steps had been an entrance to the cellar.
Slowly and cautiously the man walked down these steps.
He turned quickly when he reached the bottom as though surprised by a
noise behind him. He listened intently, then noticed that the patter of the
raindrops made a perceptible sound upon the flat steps.
He knocked on the door three times. Faint taps seemed to be repeated from
within. He knocked once. A single tap echoed. The man knocked twice. The door
was opened inward, revealing a dim light.
The man moved along the stone floor of the basement. There were cracks
above, through which rain dripped, but he continued on to a spot where other
steps went down. At the bottom he reached a dry cement floor.
Turning to the right, he entered an underground apartment. A man was
seated at a crude table on which rested a lighted lantern.
Other footsteps came along the passageway. The newcomer turned. Into the
lighted room came a stooped, longstriding creature whose face was more apish
than human.
"Did you close the door, Jupe?" asked the man at the table.
"Ehhh!" answered the ape-faced being.
The man who had just arrived laughed as he removed his black rubber hat
and coat.
"When did you teach Jupe to answer the door?" he asked.
"He learned it the last time you came," was the reply from the man at the
table. "He's been following me every time; to-night when I walked to the door
to wait for you, he grunted and pushed me aside. So I let him try it."
The man at the table was seated on a box. The newcomer picked up a similar
stool and joined him. The stooped figure with the ugly face did the same.
"Jupe has to get in on the conference," said the man who had come through
the rain.
The ape-faced man leaned sideways with a snarl. His eyes turned toward the
passageway.
"He hears something," said the newcomer.
"Only the rain," replied the other man. "He's always listening for
something. The other night a loose stone fell from that high corner of the
building, and he was bothered about it for half an hour."
THE speaker rose and raised the lantern, hooking it to a wire that was
suspended from the low ceiling. The range of the light increased. Under its
glow the shadows of the three men became grotesque. They were long, ugly
shadows. The profile of the ape-faced man was plainly visible upon the floor.
Beyond those dark, moving silhouettes, a black blot projected from the corner
of the room. It, too, seemed like a human shadow, except that it was motionless.
The visitor's eyes fell on the shadow; they moved toward the corner, where
two long white-pine boxes seemed to account for the extending blackness.
"Only two of the coffins left," he said. "One ought to do, though,
Chefano."
"I didn't know that at first, Frenchy," said the other man. "Still we may
need the other after all. We may have trouble on the last night."
"You have the credentials."
"Yes, but we can never tell what may happen."
The newcomer laughed. His face was not unpleasant. His teeth were perfect,
and his eyes, though crafty, were well set. His nose alone marred his features.
It was rather flat, with a noticeable bulge at the bridge.
His laugh was contagious. It brought a sinister smile from Chefano. The
dark-faced man's lips began to twist.
"If anything happens," "Frenchy" said, "it will be to our advantage. The
game has gone well so far, Chefano. The only trouble is that it has been too
long."
"Not for you," was the reply. "Your part is easy. One night a week is all
you work, while I've been here on the job all along."
"I don't see why you stay."
"That's because you don't know how much trouble Jupe can make. It was bad
enough getting him here. If I could leave him alone, I could get along without
your help. I could go back and forth myself. You haven't done anything but
bring that one letter from Coffran and take back my reply."
"I've helped bury the dead," said Frenchy with a laugh.
"I could have done that alone," said Chefano. "Nevertheless, you've been
useful. If anything had gone wrong outside, you would have found it out. You've
been watching the papers this week?"
"I have. They haven't traced any of the missing men as far as Harrisburg."
"Good. I figured they were all sworn to secrecy. Each one made a clever
get-away out of town, expecting he'd be back soon."
"I haven't any dope on the Englishman."
"I didn't expect that. He had a long way to come. Maybe he won't show up.
If so, it will be an extra coffin. You earned your pay, Frenchy, when you found
out about Cooper."
FRENCHY shrugged his shoulders. "It's all been easy," he said. "Too easy,
Chefano. Maybe we will have trouble before we are through with it."
"Forget it, Frenchy. This thing has been planned by a real mind. I'll show
you how safe we are. First thing, old Coffran doped it out. He sent for me. I
came from Europe and brought you with me. We've been operating over there for
years, and they haven't begun to track us. We both talk English better than
most American crooks. When a foreigner learns the language, he doesn't talk in
gangland slang.
"You had the first job - posing as Harvey Duncan's nephew. The old man was
so delirious we could have sent Jupe to do the work, only he couldn't have made
his way past the front door. The old servant - Hopkins, wasn't it? - thought
you were a friend of old Duncan."
"He was a little bit wise afterward."
"Yes. That's why we had to get rid of him. I did that. Posed as a book
agent. Saw the old fellow's pills on the table. Dropped a few potent pellets in
with them. Of course the big job was when I used your information about the
hiding place. Jupe stole the whole works. I was afraid he would strangle young
Duncan. I had to whistle for him."
"Yes. A murder would have been bad. Still, it might have been well to put
Duncan out of the way. Coffran was worried about him."
"Well, if he found out that Duncan was dangerous, he probably attended to
him. I don't think the boy knew enough to make trouble. It was Coffran's job to
attend to him, so I let it go at that. The old man doped out the scheme; he sent
the letters, that's all. It wasn't too much to ask him to attend to one man in
New York, even if it meant a murder."
As Frenchy was about to speak, Jupe leaped from the table and glared
wickedly at the corner beyond the pine-board boxes. He began to snarl, then he
started forward. Chefano whistled sharply. The ape-faced man came back to the
table.
"What's the matter?" asked Frenchy.
"He does that right along," replied Chefano. "Thinks he sees something."
Frenchy looked toward the corner.
"That's it, I guess," he said. "See that funny shadow? It must be the
position of the boxes. It looks almost like a person's shadow."
"Jupe is a lot of trouble," asserted Chefano. "I had to keep him up here
all week."
"What! You left the cabin? Do you think it wise to hang out in this place?"
"Can't help it. A week ago - Monday it was - I left the door unlocked. He
ran down to the road and attacked a farmer who was passing. Two men came along
in a car and tried to help. Jupe might have killed all three, only he heard me
whistling and ran back."
"Whew! That was bad. Did they follow him?"
"Yes. I explained that he was a half-wit, and that seemed to satisfy them.
Tried to bluff it at first, but they saw Jupe in the window. I fixed things up,
but I brought him over here after that. Left a light burning in the cabin for a
couple of nights as a precaution."
"It would be bad if he was seen here."
"Nobody ever comes around this place. I let Jupe out occasionally. He runs
around the graveyard. Once or twice he went down to the fence, but couldn't get
out. I brought him back in a hurry."
"You certainly know how to handle him."
"Well, I had him in Italy, that year I traveled with a circus so the
police would know I was behaving myself. Then I sent him over here with another
fellow who understood him. I got him back when I came over here, and he's proved
useful in this job."
The men remained silent for a few minutes. Then Chefano rose and took a
yellow slicker from a corner opposite the pine-board boxes.
"Let's go for a walk, Frenchy," he said. "I'm tired of being inside."
"It's still drizzling," replied Frenchy. "I walked from the old barn, half
a mile down the pike, where I always put my car."
"Well, you've got a rubber coat. It won't hurt you. Jupe doesn't mind the
wet. I'll show you where I've dug the pit. Did it last night."
The men walked toward the passage, followed by Jupe. Their shadows,
distorted beneath the lamplight, moved gnomishly upon the floor. At the same
time the long shadow from the boxes seemed to expand and move after them.
Outside the building the trio walked beyond the old ruin and passed the
mausoleum which shone through the darkness. Chefano produced a tiny flashlight
and pointed it toward the side of the massive tomb. The light revealed a deep
grave, with a pile of earth beside it.
"You dug far enough down," observed Frenchy.
"Why not?" asked Chefano. "I had plenty of time. The deeper the better.
This isn't much deeper than the other ones."
"Perhaps not. It looks deeper though. It must go down below the
foundations of the mausoleum."
"It does. I thought of digging it inside the mausoleum; but that would
have been bad. Out here it might be anybody's grave. I'll get Jupe to carry
over one of those old tombstones and plant it here."
"You couldn't have dug it in the mausoleum."
"Why not?"
"It must have a stone floor."
"No, indeed. It was never finished, I suppose. Here, take a look."
The door grated on rusty hinges as Chefano pulled it open. The flashlight
revealed soft dirt, on which lay a few old rusty spades.
The man with twisted lips turned out the light. Frenchy walked away as
Chefano tried to swing the door shut. It required several attempts as the
hinges had sprung.
Just as Chefano closed the door, Jupe strode over and snarled angrily. He
clawed at the edge of the door as if to open it. Chefano hissed. The ape-faced
man quieted.
"Stay out of there," he ordered. "Run along. Back in the house."
"He's a lot of trouble, isn't he?" observed Frenchy.
"Plenty. He's tried to get in that place a couple of times during the day.
I've shown him that it's empty. But he's never satisfied. To-night's no time to
humor him."
"Keep him impatient." Frenchy grinned as they descended the steps.
Inside the cellar room the two men sat at the table and conversed, while
Jupe, after a short prowl, took his place on one of the pine-board boxes.
Neither of the men paid any attention to him. At times the ape-faced man raised
him head as if to listen. But fear of Chefano's wrath prevented him from making
any motion.
Yet Jupe was not satisfied.
His keen ears seemed to detect a strange noise that did not cease - a
noise that neither Chefano nor Frenchy would have heard if they had listened
for it.
CHAPTER XXXI
DUNCAN GOES ALONE
TWO of the three men in Josh Stevens's cottage were growing sleepy. The
rain that dripped outside was quieting.
"Half past eleven," said Harry Vincent. "I'm tired. I'm glad you came
along this afternoon, major. It's nice to know that we don't have to go out in
the rain."
The Englishman gave a sleepy laugh.
"A good night to sleep," he said. "But I don't feel like dying. I'm rather
pleased that I did come in time to look around a bit."
"No more wireless messages?" inquired Bruce Duncan, impatiently.
"The last one this afternoon was final," declared Harry. He seemed
somewhat annoyed by Duncan's question.
"Well," said Bruce, "I don't like it. Sitting around here when we know
that Chefano and his ape-man are waiting. I wish we were going up there
to-night."
"Not to-night," said the Englishman. "It will be good sport to wait. I
never cared for rainy nights. They were dreadful in the trenches."
"I'm going to turn in," declared Harry.
"Ditto," said Major Weston. "good night, old top."
The two men went to their rooms. Bruce Duncan sat beside the embers of the
open fire. He realized that he had been outvoted. At the same time he felt that
his own opinion deserved some consideration. It was his information that had
put the wheels in motion. He had a greater interest in the affairs of the
ruined house than any one else - Major Weston included. As the nephew of Harvey
Duncan, the closest friend of Prince Samanov, Bruce felt that his own word
should be final.
Looking at the table, he saw Vincent's automatic. His own gun was in his
room upstairs. A plan began to dominate Bruce's thoughts. His watch showed ten
minutes of twelve.
He tiptoed up the stairs. The doors of the rooms occupied by the other men
were closed. All was silent. Probably they were already asleep.
In the darkness, Bruce found his automatic and his flashlight. He crept
downstairs and, with both guns pocketed, slipped from the house.
He moved noiselessly along the path. In the woods he used the flashlight.
This was his own expedition. A man was expected at the old ruin by midnight - a
man who was supposed to suspect nothing. He would appear as that man. He would
surprise the two fiends who waited. If necessary, he would shoot them without
mercy. That would bring matters to a definite conclusion.
With the criminals out of the way, he could probably find the stolen
insignia. If not, he and Major Weston could keep the appointment the next week
and explain matters.
THE merits of his plan pleased Bruce when he reached the abandoned lane.
His scheme seemed far superior to the one which The Shadow had evolved.
To-morrow, Chefano and his powerful brute might both be gone. Get them
to-night! It was his privilege, for they had done him an evil turn.
Bruce turned out his flashlight when he saw the open gate. The trap was
set, and he would turn it against his enemies. He made as little noise as
possible along the path.
He came beneath the towering corner of the ruin, a portion of the old
house which had been obscured by trees when he had viewed the building from
Rocky Summit.
Bruce took the path to the far side of the building. He stopped at the
foot of stone steps. Below him was an open door, with a dimly lighted
passageway. This was the lure for the fifth man! It was the trap that had
ensnared four unsuspecting victims!
Bruce drew both guns from his pocket. He stepped cautiously into the
passageway. The light was brighter at the end. The close-set walls were of
solid stone. No danger here. He moved quietly to the end of the passage. Before
coming into the light, he turned and looked back toward the entrance.
The steps seemed shadowy and black, as though some one was concealed
there. Duncan went back cautiously. He thought he detected motion in the gloom.
But he found the steps vacant.
Annoyed by his imagination, Duncan silently resumed his course and reached
the end of the passage again. He looked back and saw the same shadowy depths. He
decided that the blackness was due to the dimness of the light.
There was a doorway at the end of the passage - a doorway to the right.
The door was open; it extended into the passage, against the wall in front of
Bruce Duncan.
The young man watched the door suspiciously, then moved to the end of the
passage and turned to the right. He stopped short, his hands behind his hips,
concealing the automatics.
A man was seated at the table. He turned as he heard Duncan's approach. It
was Bernardo Chefano.
"Good evening," said Chefano in a suave voice. His lips twisted in a
slight smile. "You are Major Weston?"
"Yes," replied Bruce.
"Come in," said Chefano cordially.
Duncan waited. He had the advantage here. From his position he could
command both the room and the passage to the outside. He was standing in
semidarkness. Chefano could not see the position of his hands. Bruce looked
about the room. He wondered where the terrible ape-faced creature was.
"What is the matter?" questioned Chefano smoothly. "I have been expecting
you, major. I suppose you expected to find my uncle, Prince Samanov." The
criminal's face took on a saddened expression. "I am sorry to inform you,
major. My uncle is dead."
"Dead?" echoed Bruce. He knew that Chefano had not recognized him as the
man who had been attacked by the ape-faced creature. He had not expected to be
recognized.
"Dead," repeated Chefano. "Killed in battle, a martyr to our cause. Step
inside, major. I have waited long to meet you."
THE invitation was the needed clue. Bruce knew the method now; he knew
where the ape-man was! Chefano desired Bruce to step across the threshold,
because the monster was in the room - in one of the near corners - waiting to
spring!
In which corner? Ah, Chefano had betrayed himself! For one instant, his
eyes had moved to Duncan's right. His lips had twisted momentarily into a
distorted shape. He was restraining the creature until the proper moment.
With one action, Bruce Duncan stepped suddenly into the room. With his
left hand he raised an automatic to cover Chefano, who seemed obviously without
a weapon. At the same instant, he looked to the right and pointed his other gun
toward the corner. There was the monster - six feet away - ready for a spring.
Bruce Duncan's finger was on the trigger, but he did not press it. The
ape-faced creature had more intelligence than Bruce had supposed. The sight of
the revolver had curbed it. Back into the corner it sank, and its prompt action
saved its life.
Bruce was master of the situation. He could wait. He laughed. Should he
reveal his identity or play the part of Weston? Bruce decided on the latter
course.
"I suspected this," he declared. "The second message with the seal of
Prince Samanov - I detected the imitation. Come eight days early, eh? What
reason for the change? Had it been later, I might have suspected nothing."
From his position Bruce could easily observe both Chefano and the ape-man.
The former, his lips twisted venomously, sat with upraised hands. The monster
still cowered in the corner.
"A creature here, to kill me," continued Bruce. "A monster - not even
human. It shall die. You" - he glanced momentarily toward Chefano - "shall live
- for a while. I will learn the truth of this deception - from your ugly lips!"
The drama had gone far enough. Bruce knew that he must make good his
boast. It was right that he should kill the ape-man, the horrible monster that
was responsible for at least four deaths. His own safety depended upon
immediate action. The effect of the ape-man's death would awe Chefano; from
then on, Bruce could deal with a single, helpless foe.
HE threw one last glance at Chefano. The man's distorted lips had formed a
brutal smile. There was a sudden noise from behind. Two iron hands gripped Bruce
Duncan's wrists, and his arms were twisted toward the floor. The revolver
slipped from his left hand; the automatic in his right roared as he pulled the
trigger. The bullets ricocheted from the stone floor. The ape-faced monster was
unharmed.
The creature was upon Bruce, but at Chefano's hissing whistle it withdrew.
The twisted lips spat a command, and the monster slunk back to its corner.
Its assistance was not needed. The man who had fallen upon Bruce Duncan
from behind had caught him unawares. He lay helpless, upon his back, his eyes
staring toward the doorway which he had entered. The door was partway open now,
and Bruce realized his mistake. Its hinges were at the opposite side. It was the
entrance to a room at the end of the passage.
The half-opened door seemed to cast a heavy shadow in the passage. The
door was swaying slightly, and the shadow seemed to move with it, then recede
along the passageway. Chefano had taken the lantern from the wire and was
bringing it closer.
"Put it back," ordered the man who was holding Duncan. "We don't need it."
"I wanted to see his face, close to," said Chefano. "You caught him right,
Frenchy."
"I'm good at that," admitted Frenchy. "The trouble was the door. I had to
be slow when I opened it. I was afraid the hinges would squeak."
Duncan became limp as he ceased his last attempt to struggle. Frenchy was
sitting on his body, pinning him so cleverly that he could scarcely move.
"What are you going to do with him?" asked Frenchy. "Let Jupe finish him?"
The ape-faced creature snarled at the mention of its name.
"No," said Chefano. His lips had become hideous in their expression. "No."
"Why not?"
"Because it's too good for him. The others came quietly. They died
quickly. He created trouble. Let him think about it. He shall die of his own
accord."
"Where? How?"
"In his grave," said Chefano.
Bruce Duncan groaned as he realized the significance of those words.
CHAPTER XXXII
BURIED ALIVE
BRUCE DUNCAN lay on the stone floor, watching the preparations for his
interment. He was bound now, his wrists and ankles held with stout rope. He had
been gagged with a handkerchief. Frenchy sat upon his body to prevent him from
moving about. Duncan's captor appeared to view the proceedings as a huge
entertainment.
Chefano ordered Jupe to the corner where the boxes lay. The ape-man
carried one of the improvised coffins with ease and laid it on the floor beside
Duncan.
"Take it outside, Jupe," ordered Chefano. "Out by the big hole I dug."
The monster obeyed. While he was gone, Chefano produced three shovels, a
bag of nails and two hammers, which he muffled with cloth.
"I'm sorry old Coffran isn't here to-night," said Chefano. "He would enjoy
this."
Jupe returned. At Chefano's command, he picked up Duncan's body and flung
it across his shoulder. Chefano uttered his hissing whistle.
"Don't hurt him, Jupe," he said.
Frenchy took the lead, holding Duncan's loaded automatic at the ready in
his overcoat pocket. Then came Chefano with a shovel, nails, and a hammer.
Jupe followed, toting the prisoner. Bound helplessly, Bruce Duncan
shivered as the party entered the graveyard. He was resigned to his fate, yet
he regretted that he had not shot Chefano and the ape-man the instant he had
walked into their underground den. He was going to a horrible death - one to
which none but fiends would assign a living creature.
Chefano, with Frenchy standing guard, made a cursory examination of the
coffin. Then he whistled for Jupe to fetch his human burden.
For a moment, the ape-man hesitated. It seemed as though the eerie place
were occupied by more than just the four of them. Not that Jupe saw any other.
It was more a dread, oppressive feeling that called to some primitive sense. As
though intense, boring eyes were fastening themselves upon him with tentacles of
doom. And there among the night's haunting shadows, there seemed to be a
greater, all-enveloping shadow.
Chefano whistled again. It was not for Jupe, the ape-man, to think. With
his burden, he shambled forward.
Jupe, with Chefano standing by, carefully placed Bruce in the pine-board
box. Looking upward, the bound man could see the white mausoleum, looming like
death itself.
"Are you comfortable?" hissed Chefano in a jeering whisper. "I hope you
like your bed; you will sleep in it for a long, long time."
"A long, long while," echoed Frenchy.
"Get the cover," hissed Chefano. His voice seemed part of the whistling
wind.
Frenchy prepared to place the top portion of the crude coffin in position.
"Not yet," said Chefano. "We're going to give him a fighting chance." The
man's voice seemed to laugh in sinister fashion. "We'll let him call for help.
Let him force his way out. Through the cover, up through six feet of earth!"
He drew a knife from his pocket. He turned the flash on Duncan's prostrate
form. He cut the rope about the prisoner's ankles, then the rope at the wrists,
which were beneath Duncan's body. This did not effect a release; Bruce
struggled but found the ropes did not yield immediately.
Chefano carefully severed the handkerchief with which Bruce was gagged.
The man in the coffin turned his head and tried to loosen the choking cloth.
"Quick," hissed Chefano. "The cover."
THE flat top of the coffin came in place above. It seemed to shut Bruce
off from the rest of the world. Even the sighing wind had ceased. Bruce Duncan
felt terribly imprisoned, and his thoughts brought horror.
Dull sounds came from above. They were driving nails with the muffled
hammers!
Bruce tried to roll about. His struggle was desperate. If he could fight
clear of the bonds, he might force the cover before they had it nailed! The
ropes were yielding under his frenzied efforts. The gag had loosened and was
slipping beneath his chin.
"Help!"
His cry seemed hopeless. Muffled within the coffin, overwhelmed by the
wind! A faint cry far from human aid. Perhaps Vincent and the Englishman had
discovered his absence. They might be coming to save him! Bruce was delirious
enough to believe almost anything, yet even that one hope seemed futile.
He had one hand loose and was pressing against the top of the coffin. The
board was heavy, yet it seemed to bend. But now they were lifting the coffin,
carrying it to the grave!
It was going down, down, down - slowly down, with ropes beneath it. The
thought stunned Bruce momentarily. His mind seemed apart from his body. He was
thinking of other things while he shouted and beat against the top of the box.
He writhed and turned on his side. Both hands were free; his ankles were
almost loosened. He tried to get on his knees to brace his back against the
cover.
Thud! It was dirt upon the coffin. The noise was repeated - again and
again. Bruce was no longer shouting for aid, no longer fighting wildly. Somehow
the terrible situation had calmed his feverish mind. He was making one
concentrated, superhuman effort to gain his freedom.
Bracing on hands and knees, he pushed against the top of the pine box,
almost confident that he could force it. But now the weight was terrific. The
thudding had ceased; there was no noise from above. He realized that Chefano
and Frenchy, aided by the imitative Jupe, had been piling on the soft earth
with terrific speed.
He sank to the floor of the box, exhausted. He could no longer struggle.
It seemed that he was being crushed, pressed beneath tremendous weight. Even
the air seemed thick - almost solid. Such blackness! He could feel it!
One last vague desire gripped Bruce Duncan's mind. Death was near. If he
could only hear a final sound from the world above! His gasps seemed to echo
through the box in which he lay. He made a great effort to hold his breath
while he listened.
His hope was rewarded. He heard a sound. Not from above, but at the side.
Loose dirt, forced down by the earth above; dirt, rattling beside the box in
which he lay. He gasped.
The sound came again - at the side and near the end. It was a scratching
sound. It became more definite than that! Something was striking against the
end of the box!
Bruce heard a muffled, clicking noise. Then came a squeak, that sounded as
though a nail was being pulled from wood. He extended one hand and pressed it
against the end of the box. He felt a vibration. The end of the coffin was
moving outward! What did it mean? What was causing it?
He pressed again, and the end seemed to yield. Again he heard the muffled
clicking. Then came a soft, sibilant whisper - a strange, creepy whisper - a
voice in the grave!
Bruce shuddered. It was death, he thought. At first he could not
distinguish the words, but as he listened, they came plainly.
"Lie still," said the voice. "You are safe. Be calm."
HE obeyed the command. Some strange being had spoken from the depths below
ground. The voice was weird, yet encouraging. Bruce did not move. He breathed
deeply. The air seemed clearer.
"Press it" came the hissing whisper. "Press outward!"
Bruce obeyed. The end of the box moved a full inch. It was on a slant, and
as it yielded, he heard the rasping sound of slipping nails.
"Press slowly," came the whisper. It seemed vague and quiet now.
Bruce used his hands carefully, half wondering whether the whole event was
real. The rough wood scraped his fingers; he was sure that he was neither
dreaming nor dying.
"Stop!"
There was a slight jolt at the end of the coffin. Reaching out cautiously,
Bruce found that the end of the box was open. The air seemed clear but damp.
"Crawl forward - carefully."
His hands were in dirt beyond the coffin. On hands and knees, Bruce
emerged into solid earth. He was in a damp, moldy tunnel - a small passage that
was barely large enough for his body. It twisted to the right. He made the turn
with difficulty.
The hole became larger as he moved upward. The angle became greater as he
continued. His hands slipped as he clutched at the sides of the cramped tunnel.
Then his wrists were seized, and he was drawn bodily upward. He was clear
of the hole; his knees had reached the surface. The hands released his wrists.
He fell forward on solid ground!
Bruce uttered a long sigh. His limbs were aching; his ankles and wrists
were sore from the ropes that had bound them. But his mind was freed of
torment. He managed to roll on his back. He looked above him, and through the
Stygian gloom he fancied he saw a white ceiling above.
He was in the mausoleum!
Some one was working close beside him, working so silently that Bruce
could hardly hear the labor. Some one was shoveling dirt back into the hole
from which he had emerged.
All trace of time passed from Bruce Duncan's mind. His brain responded
only to the soft sound of dirt, dropping downward. Then came a patting noise -
the smoothing of the surface where the hole had been.
From that moment on, all seemed a dream. Bruce knew that he was outside
the mausoleum; that he was moving forward through the rain and wind, sometimes
being carried, sometimes walking. Some one was beside him, directing the way.
But Bruce Duncan's eyelids were heavy; he could not open them. At last all
seemed blank. A great faintness came over him.
Then came a sensation of warmth and dryness. He opened his eyes and stared
with surprise at his surroundings. He was seated in a chair, in the downstairs
room of the cottage. He was wrapped in a blanket. His outer garments were
hanging over the wire screen before a blazing fire.
Bruce felt weak and tired. He rose wearily and went to the window. Raising
the shade, he saw that the first touches of dawn were appearing in the sky.
Bruce picked up his shirt from the screen. It was nearly dry now - dry,
but covered with caked dirt. Gathering his garments, he went upstairs. He was
in his stocking feet, and he made no noise as he passed the closed doors and
reached the bed in his own room.
As sleep came upon him, Bruce Duncan's mind was filled with confused
thoughts of his adventure. But one dominating impression filled his mind. The
identity of his rescuer came with startling suddenness.
He had been drawn from his tomb by The Shadow!
CHAPTER XXXIII
LAMONT CRANSTON RETURNS
AT nine o'clock, Wednesday morning, Richards was awakened by the ringing
of a bell in the kitchen. The valet had spent a sleepless night, wondering what
had become of his master. He was dozing when the bell rang, and he leaped from
his chair when he heard it.
"Mr. Cranston is ringing!" he exclaimed. Then, realizing that the
millionaire was missing, he added: "Some one must be in his room."
He hurried upstairs and stood in amazement at the door of Cranston's room.
The millionaire was lying in bed, with his head propped wearily against the
pillows.
"Mr. Cranston, sir!" exclaimed the astonished valet.
"Yes," was the reproving reply. "What kind of care have you been giving
me, Richards?"
"What - what, sir?" stammered the valet. "Where have you been, sir?"
"A short while ago I found myself in the wireless room upstairs. I was
dressed, and I felt very tired. So I came down and went to bed."
"So you were up there!" exclaimed Richards. "We wondered where you had
gone, sir. Did you go up there yesterday afternoon?"
"Yesterday afternoon, Richards? I don't recall it. I imagined that I had
been there only a short while."
"You were missing from your room, sir, and we could not find you."
"Did you look upstairs?" The millionaire asked the question wearily.
"We tried the door, sir, but it was locked. Your key was downstairs, so we
didn't suppose you could be there, sir."
"Burbank must have left his key in the lock. I recall going in the room -
I'm not exactly sure of the time I entered - and it seems to me the key was in
the door."
The valet hurried to the phone and called Doctor Wells. Richards reported
the return of Lamont Cranston, and the doctor hurried over immediately. He
listened to Richards's story and decided that Cranston must have become
delirious during the previous afternoon.
"That wireless room was preying on your mind," the physician said to the
millionaire. "You must have gone upstairs and fallen asleep. I can't understand
how you managed to get that far. Oddly, your condition seems to be improved
despite the exertion."
"Perhaps I am capable of greater exertion than climbing stairs," said
Cranston with a slight smile.
"Possibly," replied the physician. "I believe now that your condition was
somewhat better than I supposed."
"Mr. Fellows has arrived," announced Richards.
"Hello, Fellows," said Lamont Cranston as the chubby-faced insurance man
appeared. "What brings you here?"
"Richards called me at the office. I was there before eight o'clock
to-day. He said you were missing."
"I appear to have been in the wireless room upstairs."
"I thought Burbank was attending to that."
"He went away yesterday."
"Mr. Cranston's interest in Burbank's work appeared to be taxing his
strength," explained Doctor Wells. "When I mentioned that fact, we agreed that
Burbank should go."
"I can't keep my mind off the sending station," said Cranston. "Perhaps
you had better let me go up there today."
"No, no," exclaimed the physician.
"Then we'll have to send for Burbank."
"Very well. I suppose that would be best under the existing circumstances."
FELLOWS undertook to call the wireless operator by telephone. When he had
completed his mission, he had received Burbank's promise to come immediately.
"I am glad you are here, Fellows," said Cranston. "There is something I
wish you would do for me. I am anxious to learn what has become of a friend of
mine - an Englishman whom I met last year at Palm Beach. His name is Hubert
Weston. He was an officer in the British army during the war - a major, I
believe. I have intended to write Weston, but have lost his address. You have
many unusual connections in New York. Perhaps you could find out something
about him."
"I might be able to do that," said Fellows thoughtfully. "Do you merely
want his address?"
"It would be better if I could obtain additional information - other facts
- a picture of him would be excellent. I want to be quite sure that I am writing
to the right man - not to some one of the same name."
"I'll do what I can," promised the insurance broker. "Perhaps I can learn
something about Weston through the British consulate. You will hear from me as
soon as possible."
The matter had been discussed in an indifferent manner; there seemed no
further topic of conversation. Fellows went back to New York. Doctor Wells also
left after deciding that his patient could sit up in a chair by the window.
"Wonderful improvement," he had said. "Your visit to your wireless room
seems to have done you good. Don't overdo yourself. I may have you completely
well within a week."
When Burbank arrived, he was sent to Cranston's room. The millionaire gave
the wireless operator a code message which he had written.
"Send this quickly," he said. "I answered a call this morning. Told them
to wait for two hours. This will explain a lot of questions that will be asked.
Bring me the reply."
Burbank made occasional visits to Cranston's room during the course of the
afternoon. At five o'clock a messenger arrived with a large envelope from
Fellows. The packet was brought to the millionaire's room. The Shadow smiled
with satisfaction as he drew out several pages of data along with the
photograph of a man in the uniform of a British officer.
"Very quick work," he said musingly. "Now to get Weston to look into the
box. That will be easy."
He took pencil and paper and wrote a careful message in longhand:
The box which was installed last night is an improved device to aid
transmission. We are ready to test it. Open the front of the box, press the
button on the side, and look in. You will see intermittent lights. Make sure
that they change regularly.
When you use the key, have some one else look in the box while you are
operating, to make sure that the lights are regular. Since Duncan is asleep,
you may intrust that simple duty to Major Weston. Your previous messages have
been difficult to receive because of static. The new device, if it functions
correctly, will over come that difficulty. Explain the matter to Major Weston.
The Shadow rapidly translated the writing into code. He rang the bell for
Richards and dispatched the valet to the wireless room with the message.
Five minutes later the door of Lamont Cranston's room opened softly.
Richards was standing in the hall, but he heard nothing. He did not even see
the form that slipped silently up the stairs to the sending station in the
tower - a form attired in a dark dressing gown.
Burbank was seated at a table on which stood a small screen. The room was
dark. The wireless operator looked up as some one touched his shoulder. It was
Lamont Cranston.
"In a minute," said Burbank quietly.
A slight buzzing began. The small white screen was illuminated. The face
of Harry Vincent appeared there, flickering like a motion picture.
The face disappeared; another took its place. It was the face of a
square-jawed man - a man with a short mustache and close-cropped hair.
Lamont Cranston focused a small light on a picture which he held in his
hand. He compared it with the image on the screen while Burbank looked on with
interest.
"Identical," whispered the millionaire.
"Excellent television," replied Burbank.
The Shadow's fingers sought the sending key. They tapped a slow message.
"I am sending an O.K. to Vincent. Do not make any more complaints about
static, Burbank. Let them think that it has been eliminated by the new device.
I am greatly pleased by the clearness of the images. The television apparatus
has proven quite satisfactory. We may have occasion to utilize it further,
Burbank."
The image of Major Hubert Weston had disappeared. Burbank turned off the
light, and the little screen was dark.
When Richards entered his master's room a short time later he found Lamont
Cranston sound asleep in his chair by the window.
CHAPTER XXXIV
TWO MEN TALK
MAJOR WESTON sat in front of the open fireplace, watching the sparks fly
upward as he puffed at a massive meerschaum pipe. He turned suddenly as the
door opened. Harry Vincent entered.
"Ah!" said the major. "I was just wondering when you would return. How is
Bruce Duncan?"
"He seemed better after I got him home. The Hindu servant was waiting
there and took charge of him. I think he will improve quickly. It was
impossible to keep him here."
"I agree with you. This place is too near the scene of his terrible
adventure. We have enough trouble ahead of us without the added responsibility
of a sick man."
"I was wise to take him home to-day. To-morrow will be Sunday - heavy
traffic on the road. I don't like those once-a-week drivers," said Harry.
"You were away fourteen hours. You left at seven in the morning; it's only
a few minutes past nine now."
Harry Vincent picked up the ear phones and listened a while. Then he
tapped a brief message.
"Reporting my return," Harry explained to Weston. Then:
"Well," he said, "we have our instructions. Nothing to do until Tuesday.
Then intercept the sixth man - if possible. I hope we have the same luck that
Duncan and I ran into when we discovered you."
"By the way," said the Englishman, "you said that you expected to pick up
special instructions in New York. Did you receive them?"
"That's right!" exclaimed Harry. "An envelope was waiting for me at
Duncan's house. Abdul gave it to me. Here it is."
Harry read the letter carefully, then tossed the paper into the fire. The
Englishman noted that it turned over as it fell, but he did not observe writing
on either side. The fact struck him as curious, yet he made no comment.
"Important instructions," said Harry. "First, no more wireless messages
are necessary until Tuesday. We must be careful in our actions. We are to use
our own judgment in finding the sixth man."
"Good," remarked the Englishman approvingly.
"If we find the man," resumed Harry, "I shall report immediately. But we
must not, under any circumstances, tell him of Bruce Duncan's miraculous
escape."
"Why not?"
"It sounds too incredible. Our story is simply this: Duncan and I met you
by chance and explained matters. We decided not to visit the meeting place at
the time appointed. Duncan, acting independently, disappeared. We do not know
where he is. We cannot understand it.
"We are afraid that he visited the ruins at midnight, yet we can scarcely
believe that he could have been so foolhardy as to have gone alone. We are
acting cautiously; hence we have not investigated. We know that danger lurks,
and we are waiting for the crucial time before we take a single step. That time
will be Wednesday - the day originally set for the authentic meeting."
"Very well," agreed the Englishman. "I must confess that I would not have
believed Duncan's story under ordinary circumstances. The idea seems to me to
be the correct one. Let us set our minds to it; in all our conversation, we
must speak of Duncan as one who has disappeared."
BOTH men considered the matter mentally, and their thoughts concurred.
After all, Bruce Duncan had actually disappeared. Their story was one of fact.
The theory that Duncan might have gone, prepared for danger, to the meeting
place was a correct deduction. To say that he had not returned would certainly
be a curbing influence upon the sixth man. It would make him quite willing to
abide by the wishes of Vincent and Weston, to follow any instructions that they
might receive.
"I wonder why Bruce Duncan does not return," remarked the Englishman
casually as he lighted his pipe.
Vincent smiled. The major was accustoming himself to the story already.
Vincent opened the front door a trifle. The room was smoky from the fire.
"What have you been doing all day?" he asked the Englishman.
"I tramped down to the village," said Weston. "A long hike it was. I was
there most of the day."
"That was a mistake," observed Harry. "You might have been seen."
"By whom? I told my name to no one. You and Duncan went to the village
frequently, didn't you?"
"Yes; but our case was different. We established a reason for being here.
We even had Pennsylvania licenses on our car. You are here alone, with no
reason for your presence. You are obviously a Britisher. The natives are apt to
talk about you."
"Right-o," said the Englishman. "I never considered it in that light. What
shall I do? Stay around here?"
"I guess that's the only thing to do. You might climb Rocky Summit
to-morrow. That's the mountain from which Duncan and I observed the old ruined
house."
"Topping idea," declared Weston. "By the way, what do you suppose has
become of our friend Duncan?"
"I don't know," said Vincent, repressing a smile at the major's
persistency in sticking to the trumped-up story.
"What plan do you have concerning the sixth man?" questioned Major Weston.
"Shall we watch the station or the bus?"
"We'll go downtown in the afternoon," declared Harry. "He may come in on
the early train, as you did. If we have no luck, you ride on the bus from the
station. I'll take you downtown in time for the last trip. You will probably
not be noticed that late at night. Try to open conversation with any passenger
who seems likely to be the man. If he is on the bus, he will get off at Ridge
Road. You can get off, too; I will be waiting there."
"An excellent plan. Perhaps I can discover the chap and begin negotiations
on the bus."
"That's the very idea I was suggesting."
HARRY rose and walked toward the door. Major Weston followed him. The two
men stood on the porch, breathing the cool mountain air.
"How do you like this district, Major Weston?" inquired Harry.
"The place is delightful," replied the Englishman. "This has been an
enjoyable week - but for our worries over Bruce Duncan - and I am glad to be
here. Tomorrow I shall climb Rocky Summit. Will you accompany me?"
"I had better stay here," replied Harry. "There's another reason why I am
sorry you went to the village. One of us should be here all along, on account
of the wireless."
"I believe you are right. I should not have gone to the village. In fact,
it was after dark when I started back. A man gave me a lift."
"Who was he - a native?"
"I don't believe so. I couldn't see his face in the dark. He talked as
though he came from the city. He brought me along Mountain Pike as far as our
road."
"You didn't tell him where you were staying?" Vincent's voice seemed
anxious.
"No, indeed. I merely mentioned that I was stopping at a house near by."
Harry Vincent became suddenly alert. He drew a flashlight from his pocket
and turned a glare of light on the ground in front of the porch.
"What is it?" asked Weston.
"Thought I heard something out there," replied Harry. "I must have been
mistaken. It sounded like a crackling twig."
"Probably some small animal."
"I suppose so. The woods are full of them."
Harry pocketed the flashlight. Accompanied by Major Weston, he reentered
the cottage. Harry closed the door behind him.
CHAPTER XXXV
THE SIXTH MAN
A STRANGER alighted from the afternoon train at Culbertville. He was a
dapper man of rather good appearance, his pointed mustache forming a thin black
line beneath his aquiline nose. He glanced leisurely about him and looked with
interest at the bus which was loading passengers for its trip across the
mountains.
He approached as though to speak to the bus driver. Then, apparently
changing his mind, he sat on a bench of the station platform. Even when the bus
got under way, he made no move.
The stranger finished a cigarette, then strolled across the street and
stopped to light another cigarette beside a parked coupe. Two men were seated
in the automobile. The stranger noticed them as he raised his head.
"Pardon me," he said with a pleasant smile. "Which direction do I go to
find the road called Mountain Pike?"
"Straight ahead," said the young man at the wheel of the car. "But if you
are going up Mountain Pike you should have taken the bus."
"I realize that," replied the stranger. "But I can take the bus on its
next trip."
"That isn't until late at night - half past eleven, to be exact."
"I'm in no hurry," said the stranger with a shrug of his shoulders.
"We are driving in that direction," said the man at the wheel. "You are
quite welcome to go with us."
The stranger hesitated.
"You would be overcrowded," he said.
"Certainly not," came the reply. "There's room for three of us. Come along
if you wish."
The stranger accepted the invitation. The man at the side of the driver
shifted to the left to allow room.
"My name is Vincent," said the man at the wheel, "and this gentleman is
Major Weston."
"Glad to meet you," said the stranger. "My name is Garrison Cooper."
"How far along the pike are you going?"
"I'm not quite sure. I expect to stop off at a road somewhere on the way.
Let me think a moment - the name slips my mind."
"Ridge Road?"
"That's it. How did you happen to name it so quickly?"
Vincent laughed.
"We live near Ridge Road," he said. "We have a cottage about half a mile
beyond. Would you like to run up and see the place?"
Cooper studied Vincent rather quizzically. The invitation had been given
in a friendly, matter-of-fact manner.
"I suppose so," said Cooper. He seemed a trifle uneasy for the moment.
WHEN the car pulled up in front of the cottage, Cooper was the first to
alight.
"He's our man," whispered Weston.
"I know," replied Harry. "We must give him the information."
They ushered the newcomer into the cottage. The man's eyes expressed
interest as he observed the wireless equipment.
"What's this?" he exclaimed. "A sending station?"
"Yes," responded Vincent.
"What is its range?"
"Only a few hundred miles. But we can receive from a great distance."
"Even from Russia," said Major Weston.
Wheeling about, Cooper stared at the Englishman. His face seemed excited;
his hands and arms trembled nervously.
"Why did you say that?" he exclaimed.
"Because I believed it would interest you," said the Englishman. "Mr.
Cooper, I am your friend. Like you, I have an interest in Russia." He drew a
paper from his pocket and unfolded it before the eyes of the astonished guest.
"This came to me a few months ago," explained Weston. "It bears the seal
of Prince Samanov."
Cooper seized the paper and studied it with eager eyes. He examined the
seal closely.
"It is the same as the one I received," he said at length. "But why have
you kept it? I destroyed mine. I suspected that there might be others, but I
was not sure."
"Why did you destroy it?"
"Because I wished no one to see it. I read the message and remembered it.
I received a second also. Did you?"
"Yes. I have it here."
Cooper uttered a sharp cry as he read the second message.
"You were told to come eight days ahead! My second letter set the meeting
but one day in advance. Tonight, instead of Wednesday. Did you go last Tuesday
night?"
The Englishman shook his head.
"I learned that the second letter was a forgery," he said. "It was a snare
to lure me to my death."
Cooper's face betrayed signs of fright as he sank into a chair. He
listened intently as Hubert Weston told the story in terse, cold words.
"So you did not go!" exclaimed Cooper when the major had finished his
account. "But what became of young Duncan? He could not have been foolish
enough to have gone in your place."
"We fear that he was," said Weston in a hushed voice. "He has been gone
one week. Gone - perhaps to the same death encountered by the other four. You
and I may be the sole survivors. We are indeed fortunate."
"What shall I do?" questioned Cooper. "Stay here with you to-night? I
cannot go alone."
"Stay here, certainly. That fits in with our plan. We attack to-morrow
night. Three of us. We had hoped to have four - Duncan, as well as yourself.
Even now we outnumber the two who are at the old ruin. I doubt that they have
others with them, although there might be one extra man."
"The ape-man is powerful," interposed Vincent. "Do not forget that. I have
encountered him."
"Why not go to-night?" questioned Cooper.
"We must abide by the decision of the man who is directing us. We are
following our chief's plans."
Garrison Cooper nodded. Then he addressed Major Weston.
"It is fortunate, after all," he said, "that you kept the messages which
bore Prince Samanov's seal. I destroyed mine for a very definite reason. I had
received a letter from Prince Samanov some time after the Russian Revolution.
It was a very personal letter, and in it were instructions to destroy it and
all similar communications. I considered these last messages as similar
communications."
"What was your connection with my friend, the prince?" asked the
Englishman.
"I met him in France," said Cooper. "I loaned him a considerable amount of
money, with no security other than his word. I supposed that at this meeting the
debt would be repaid. I could see no danger in coming, but I did realize that
there was need for secrecy, as Prince Samanov's agent might have had difficulty
leaving Russia."
"Have you come far?"
"From Providence, Rhode Island."
HARRY VINCENT was busy with the wireless. Garrison Cooper was curious as
Major Weston peered into the box that stood on the table. He waited until the
message had been sent.
"What is that instrument?" he inquired.
"A static eliminator," explained Harry. "It was put in here the -"
"A very ingenious device," broke in Major Weston. "It was here when I
came."
"Yes," agreed Harry. "It was put in here by Duncan and myself the night we
first came to the cottage. It was part of the equipment."
He threw a thankful glance at Weston. Harry had caught himself just in
time. Had he finished his sentence by saying "the night that Duncan
disappeared," he would have revealed the fact that The Shadow had paid a
mysterious visit to the cottage.
Bruce Duncan had described his adventure to Harry and Weston, during the
rational moments that he had had. They realized the part that The Shadow must
have played, and the wireless message the next day had explained why the new
instrument had been added to the wireless set.
A reply came to Harry's message.
"Same instructions," announced the young man. "Let matters rest to-night.
The fact that Cooper does not appear will not change matters in the least. The
big event will be to-morrow night. Chefano must remain there to meet the agent
of Prince Samanov."
"But when will that man arrive?" asked Cooper.
"We don't know. Possibly in advance of midnight. We are to receive our
final orders to-morrow afternoon."
The three men drove to a town on the other side of the mountains for
dinner. Harry advised against going to Culbertville. After they had made their
trip, he urged his companions to remain in the new town during the evening. As
a result, they did not get back to the cottage until after midnight.
"Well, that's over," said Harry as they entered the house. "I'm glad we
were away from here at midnight. I was afraid one of you might have become
venturesome - as we presume Duncan did."
"Poor Duncan," said Major Weston. "If he did fall into the trap, Chefano
probably supposed that it was I. He may have been the fifth man that died."
Garrison Cooper shuddered.
"I was to have been the sixth victim," he murmured. "I am glad it is past
midnight!"
Cooper was to sleep in the room which Duncan had occupied. Major Weston
went upstairs, leading the way. Harry Vincent remained by the wireless
instrument, apparently to make a final call.
He remained there for a full hour. Then he tiptoed noiselessly upstairs.
He listened at the two closed doors - first at Cooper's, then at Weston's.
Assured that both men were asleep, he retired.
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE SURPRISE
WEDNESDAY was a day of waiting. After one o'clock in the afternoon, Harry
sent a few calls, but did not receive a response until nearly six. He repeated
the message to his companions:
"Further instructions will follow soon. Unless you are notified
differently, follow this plan. Move at eleven o'clock, with Weston and Cooper.
Surprise Chefano and the ape-man. Watch out for a third man called Frenchy. He
may be in hiding. Wait outside the gates from nine o'clock on, in case the
agent of Prince Samanov arrives early. Attack at eleven whether he has come or
not. Then wait to meet him. You will not be aided. You three should be
sufficient. Circumstances make assistance difficult. Report immediately after
operations."
Harry still kept the ear phones on his head in response to a "Stand by"
that had followed the message. Code words came again, bringing unexpected
instructions. Harry repeated the message aloud:
"Send Major Weston to look at the cabin in the woods. He must go
immediately. Tell him to make sure that it is deserted."
The Englishman left the cottage. Presently another message came.
If Weston has gone, call me to that effect. Be sure that the static
eliminator is working. Tell Cooper to watch it.
Harry reached for the sending key. He motioned to Garrison Cooper and
pointed toward the box on the table.
"Look in there," he said. "Be sure that the lights change regularly. The
static must be bad."
Cooper followed instructions while Harry called. Receiving the reply, he
gave the information that Weston had left to investigate the old cabin. The
answer came quickly:
O.K. Stand by. Important.
Harry waved Cooper from the instrument on the table. He removed his ear
phones as he noticed the man's lips were moving.
"I'm worried about Weston," said Cooper nervously. "Suppose I go out on
the porch and watch for him?"
"All right," said Harry. "But stay there until I come. There's no danger
at the old cabin. This is just a precaution, I suppose."
He clamped the ear phones on his head as Cooper left by the front door. A
few minutes elapsed. Then came another message:
Important. The stated time of operations remains the same. But immediately
upon the return of Major Weston, tell Cooper that -
The message ceased suddenly. Something seemed to have gone wrong with the
receiving apparatus. Harry removed the ear phones and began an investigation.
Then he went to the door. Cooper was standing on the steps, looking toward the
woods.
"Something has gone wrong with the wireless," said Harry.
"Have you found the trouble?" asked Cooper anxiously.
"No," replied Harry. "Have you seen Weston?"
"Not yet."
"I guess he'll be back any minute now. I'll try to locate the trouble."
"Maybe it's the aerial."
Harry went out to see. Cooper's surmise was correct. One end of the aerial
had dropped from the side of the house. The other end was attached to a tree. A
moderate wind was blowing, and Harry supposed that the swaying of the tree had
caused the damage. He obtained a ladder from the back of the cottage.
Cooper went in the house for a pair of pliers. As he arrived with them,
Major Weston appeared from the woods.
"Can I help?" he asked.
"I'll have it fixed in a few minutes," said Harry from the top of the
ladder. "Cooper can help if necessary."
THE Englishman went in the house. He was smoking his pipe in the corner
when Harry entered with Cooper. There was more difficulty with the wireless.
Harry made a thorough inspection before he finally mended the trouble. He had
wasted nearly an hour.
He began to call, but received no response. He joined his companions at a
cold supper, then returned to his operating, with no result.
"It's nearly nine o'clock," observed Major Weston.
The Englishman was right. The time had arrived for them to start, and
Harry had not received The Shadow's final message! He wondered what it could
have been. The accident to the aerial and the trouble with the set had been a
strange coincidence.
Yet Cooper had been on the porch when the first occurred, and Weston had
been indoors on the second occasion. No one could have approached the cabin to
tamper with the equipment without having been seen. There might be some reason
why either Weston or Cooper could have wished to stop the wireless message, but
certainly both men would not have desired it.
Harry Vincent's mind was filled with absurd doubts. Then he realized that
The Shadow had planned tonight's operations, and that the mysterious director
had included both the Englishman and the newcomer in his instructions.
The set was working now, yet there had been no response, which evidently
signified that the interrupted message had been of minor consequence.
It was dark outside. The night was clear, and the moon had not yet risen.
Harry calculated that it would not become bright until very late - perhaps
after midnight. It was imperative however, that they should start at once.
He produced three automatics. Each of his companions took a pistol. Harry
extinguished the lamps in the cottage.
They arrived at the gates in silence. Two hours to wait. They were long
hours during which the three men were impatient, although Weston passed the
time rather easily by smoking his pipe, keeping his hand around the bowl to
prevent the sparks from blowing. The wind sobbed eerily through the trees.
"Eleven o'clock!"
At Harry's announcement, the trio entered the gates and stole up the
driveway. The moon was rising; the corner tower of the old ruin was plainly
visible in the dim light. Harry led the way, keeping well in the shadow of
overhanging trees.
It was pitch-black in the shelter of the old ruin. All was quiet; the wind
had ceased its low moaning with the rising of the moon. The three men reached
the stone steps that led to the cellar. They could see the light from the
passage.
"I'll go first," whispered Harry. "Cooper next. Weston last. We must watch
the rear. Keep by the steps here, major. Do not enter too far. Keep in touch
with us."
They huddled in a silent group.
"Do not fire unless absolutely necessary," whispered Harry. "Capture them,
if possible - Chefano and his ape-man. But we must guard against a third - in
case there is another here."
He did not explain the reason to Cooper, but the Englishman grunted
affirmatively in the darkness. Major Weston was familiar with the details of
Bruce Duncan's experience.
"Remember," cautioned Harry, "that the Russian may be here soon. If he
should hear shots, he might be alarmed. Hence we must work silently if
possible. We are not expected. We can make a surprise attack."
He entered the passage, moving noiselessly. Cooper followed, and as they
neared the end of the passage, Harry made signs for the man to watch the door
at the end. Cooper nodded that he understood.
When he reached the turn to the right, Harry crouched cautiously. Then,
with sudden action, he leaped into the lighted room. He saw Chefano at the
table, the ape-faced man lying on the floor beside him. As the two rose, Harry
covered them with his automatic.
Consternation appeared on Chefano's twisted lips. The ape-man snarled at
the sight of the gun. The creature had leaped upward; now it sank back as
Chefano raised his hands.
"Come on!" called Harry.
Cooper rushed into the room, and Weston appeared at the end of the passage.
"Watch that door, major," ordered Harry. "See if there's any one behind
it."
The heavy-set Englishman turned on a flashlight. He opened the door and
threw the gleam beyond.
"It's a small room," he said. "Two steps down. Empty."
He made an investigation and returned.
"Solid walls," he declared. "It's a regular vault. No other entrance."
"Good," decided Harry. "We'll put them in there."
He ordered Chefano to stand.
"No foolishness," he declared. "Go down in that room and call your
creature with you. Any false move - by either you or the ape-man - and it's
bullets for you, Bernardo Chefano."
The twisted lips were ugly as Chefano arose and obeyed. He hissed his
commanding whistle. The cowed ape-man followed. Weston stood in the passage,
his automatic ready, as the prisoners entered the vault.
Harry was at the head of the steps, covering the scene with his
flashlight. The Englishman joined the prisoners and calmly searched their
clothes; the ape-man cowered during the operation. Weston took a revolver from
Chefano's pocket.
"No trouble from them now," he said calmly.
He closed the door of the vault; it had a heavy hasp which the Englishman
attached to the staple on the doorway, wedging the fastening in place with a
bolt that was there for the purpose.
COOPER smiled in a relieved way.
"You fellows have nerve," he said. "I'll admit I was scared. You handled
them as easily as if they were babies. Well, we have them now. But maybe
there's some one else near by."
"We'll watch for that," declared Harry. "Two of us can remain in this
room, which is evidently the meeting place. The third must stand guard in the
passage."
"I'm willing," said Cooper. "What shall I do?"
"Keep your back against the door to the vault. You can hear anything that
happens there. Have your automatic ready. Then keep looking down the passage.
The moment that you hear any one, come in here. If it is an enemy, we will be
ready for him. If it is the messenger that we expected, we can explain
everything to his satisfaction."
"Good," agreed Major Weston.
Harry sat beside the Englishman at the table. He held his automatic in
readiness for a sign from Cooper, who had taken his place on guard.
"There must be only two of them to-night," remarked Vincent in a low voice
which only Major Weston could hear.
"Duncan said there was a third," replied the Englishman quietly.
"Yes," affirmed Harry. "A man called Frenchy. I don't think he's here.
He's not needed. Chefano has the insignia. He should receive the money without
question."
"The insignia!" exclaimed the Englishman in a louder tone. "Chefano didn't
have it when I searched him! It must be somewhere in the room!"
Harry examined the table. It had no drawer. His eyes roamed about the
room. There was a coffinlike box in one corner; opposite it were two smaller
boxes.
He laid his automatic on the table and went to inspect. Inside the top box
of the two he found some envelopes and a small wooden case.
"Look at these," he exclaimed.
Major Weston glanced to make sure that Cooper was on guard. The man was
looking in the room.
"Watch the passageway," cautioned the Englishman. "You can look at these
later."
Cooper obeyed. Weston laid his automatic on the box upon which he had been
seated and joined Harry.
"Well!" came the voice of Cooper from the doorway.
The others turned. They were staring into the muzzle of Cooper's
automatic. A jeering laugh came from the man in the doorway.
"Easy, eh!" he exclaimed. "You thought Chefano, and Jupe were easy! You
are the easy ones! You thought there might be another man in the gang, but you
never suspected he was with you all the time!"
Harry Vincent and Major Weston were as motionless as statues. The
unexpected climax had rendered them powerless. Transfixed with amazement, they
watched their former companion stride to the table and pick up their pistols.
He still covered them with his own gun.
Cooper's face was malicious as he ordered his prisoners to raise their
hands above their heads. His good-natured smile had become an evil grin. The
fingers of his left hand tugged at his mustache and pulled the adornment from
his lip.
"Garrison Cooper!" he exclaimed. "Garrison Cooper died a month ago. He was
the sixth man; he carried his secret to his grave, for he destroyed both letters
after he received them. He died from a heart attack. We didn't expect him to
come here after we learned of his death. Only the living can come - and they do
not leave.
"I don't even look like Garrison Cooper. But you didn't know that. My name
is - well, they call me 'Frenchy'; that's enough. I'm Chefano's trump card - his
ace in the hole. He left the game in my hands, and I've won!"
Frenchy's white teeth gleamed as he surveyed the men he had betrayed.
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE TORTURE CHAMBER
A LITTLE group of men came into the moonlight, up the stone steps from the
passage that extended beneath the old stone ruin. Harry Vincent and Major Weston
were in advance, their arms raised. Frenchy followed, threatening with his
automatic. Chefano and Jupe, released from their dungeon, were at the rear.
Chefano took the lead after they had reached the ground. Following a curt
command from Frenchy the prisoners walked after Chefano. His path led back
toward the lane, but he turned left at the end of the building and stopped at a
pair of stone steps that descended beneath the old tower to light a lantern.
The prisoners were taken into a low-ceilinged room that seemed dull and
tomblike in the gloom. A doorway showed at the farther corner. It had steps
that evidently went up into the stone tower.
In the center of the room was a low, flat table. Chains rested on one end;
at the other edge was a long roller of wood that was set in two upright posts.
At each end, by a post, was a four-armed winch; these winches were crudely
fashioned of wooden spokes. There were chains attached to the roller and chains
at the lower end of the table.
"Place them on the table," ordered Chefano.
"Lie down on the table," commanded Frenchy.
Both Harry and the major hesitated.
"Lie down," commanded Frenchy again. "Call Jupe, Chefano. He can take care
of them."
Avoiding this threat of the ape-man, the prisoners obeyed. The table was
barely wide enough for both of them. At Chefano's directions they placed their
feet at the lower end, with their heads a few feet below the roller.
Chefano leered as he fastened their ankles to the bottom of the table and
attached the chains of the roller to their wrists. Their arms were extended
above them; they were stretched between the ends of the table.
"What's this idea?" questioned Frenchy.
"A rack," said Chefano, hanging the light from the ceiling. "The table was
here when I came. So I constructed the posts and the roller. It's exactly like
the racks they used in Italy years ago to make prisoners talk. When the roller
is tightened, the chains stretch the body between. When the body begins to
stretch, the tongue begins to wag.
"I had it ready in case we might need information from some one, but there
was no occasion to use it. It was planned for one, but I altered it because of
the width of the table."
FRENCHY grinned in admiration.
"You turn the winches, eh?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Chefano. "There is a ratchet on each one. The wheel will
not go back. One man can operate both by going from one to the other."
"But we don't need to find out anything from these men, Chefano. I was
with them. I know their story."
"It will be good amusement for Jupe," said the heartless Chefano. "I don't
want him around when our next visitor arrives. He might excite suspicion. I
don't contemplate trouble with the last man. I have the credentials."
"This one is Major Weston," said Frenchy, indicating the Englishman as one
would point out an article of furniture.
"Weston!" exclaimed Chefano. "I thought he was the man we buried alive!"
"That was young Duncan. He and this other fellow - whose name is Vincent -
met Weston last Tuesday night and warned him. Duncan was hot for excitement, and
came up here alone. That was why he made so much trouble. He was prepared for
you and Jupe - but not for me.
"I stayed around the town a bit last week. I had a hunch that something
might be wrong. I saw Weston in the village. Plainly, he was an Englishman. I
followed him to the cottage where he was staying with Vincent. I listened in,
and learned part of their game. So I showed up yesterday and let them think I
was Garrison Cooper."
"You've been with them since last night!"
"Of course. They had radio communication with New York, or some place,
getting instructions from some fellow they call The Shadow. I put the wireless
out of commission this afternoon just to be safe."
The words revealed the truth to Harry Vincent. Frenchy had broken the
aerial when he went out on the porch; he had tampered with the set when he had
been sent into the house for pliers!
"They're working alone now," concluded Frenchy. "So it's up to you. But
I'd advise you to let Jupe strangle them and finish the job right now."
"He will strangle them before it's over," announced Chefano as he rolled
his lips. "As soon as they commence to shout he'll leave the winches and choke
them. We'll let him use the rack for a while. It will amuse him."
He made signs to the ape-man. Jupe had evidently been instructed
previously in the use of the rack. The inhuman creature snarled to show that it
understood its work.
"Come on," said Chefano. "The Russian may be here. Leave the light so Jupe
can see what he is doing."
"One of us had better come back every now and then to see that everything
is all right."
"Yes; we'll do that. But don't worry about Jupe. Come along."
The ape-faced creature walked about the table after the two men had gone.
It thrust its ugly face above the eyes of the chained men and snarled. It laid
its claws upon Vincent's throat, and for a moment he thought the end was near.
But the creature evidently remembered its instructions, for it went to the end
of the table and clutched one of the winches.
Click! The winch turned a notch. Jupe moved to the other side of the
table. There was a click from the second winch.
The ape-man repeated the operations. Harry Vincent could feel the
tightening of his arms.
"What about it?" he asked grimly, turning his head toward the Englishman.
"Shall we shout and let the beast choke us?"
"Carry on a bit," replied the major.
THE ape-faced man moved slowly from one side of the table to the other,
pausing in between to stare over the end of the rack and view the faces of his
victims. The roller had pulled the chains taut now; the next turn of the winch
brought a groan of agony from Harry. The Englishman caught his breath as the
winch on his side was turned.
"I'm going to shout," groaned Harry, "while I have strength."
He saw the hideous face of the ape-man grinning down upon him. He opened
his mouth for the cry that would bring death. Strangulation would be pleasant
as a relief from this torture.
But before Harry could shout, he saw the monster raise its head and snarl.
It was looking at something at the foot of the rack. It seemed about to spring
over the bodies of the prisoners.
There, at the foot of the table, stood a black-robed figure that completed
the sinister aspect of this torture chamber. It was like some dark phantom of
the past, a veritable inquisitor of the Middle Ages. Its face was hidden by its
robes, but through the black coverings one could feel the piercing dagger of two
eyes - eyes that burned.
The ape-man did not leap upon the table. Instead he ran around to the
side, snarling as he approached the opposite end. Then, from the black-robed
form came a hissing whistle - the signal which the monster had been taught to
obey. Jupe stopped and crouched beside the table.
"It's Chefano," gasped Harry. "Chefano, come to see us suffer."
"Stay there, Jupe," came the order.
The black-robed figure moved to the top of the table; it leaned over the
faces of the stretched men, and its huge shadow seemed to bury them in
blackness. Harry felt those eyes upon him. It spoke again - but no longer in
Chefano's voice. Its words were uttered in a strange, sibilant whisper that
Vincent recognized from the past.
"Attack Chefano and Frenchy," said the deliberate voice. "You will find
weapons beside the stone steps. The two men are within the meeting room. I
shall handle the monster."
The winches were released. With amazing quickness the mysterious figure in
black released the prisoners. Jupe began to snarl. The hissing whistle silenced
him. But as the men on the table raised themselves to a sitting position, the
monster sensed that it had been deceived. With a hideous cry of rage, it sprang
toward the cloaked being.
Harry saw the tall form merge into the shadows at the end of the room. The
ape-man missed his goal.
"Hurry!" came the commanding whisper. "Go!"
Jupe's sharp eyes detected the figure in the gloom. The ape-man, his arms
extended wide, approached the shadowy form, to drive it toward the corner.
Harry and the major were on the floor, hurrying toward the door as fast as
their limbs would respond.
Glancing over his shoulder, Harry saw the black-robed shape elude the
ape-man's grasp. With amazing speed it gained the stairway in the corner of the
room; it vanished upward in the darkness, with the snarling monster in pursuit.
Down from the stairs, through the low-ceilinged room, echoed a hollow,
mocking laugh.
It was a sinister laugh - a laugh more terrifying than the torture of the
rack!
CHAPTER XXXVIII
THE FIGHT ON THE TOWER
CHEFANO and his evil accomplice, Frenchy, were completely surprised when
their former prisoners appeared in the doorway of the meeting room. The two men
were engaged in tense conversation over the table. They looked up when Vincent
and the Englishman entered. Weakly, the crooks raised their hands at sight of
the two pistols.
Harry ordered them outside the building. Major Weston had discovered a
rope in the corner of the room. While Harry covered the captives with his gun,
the Englishman bound them and toppled them to the ground. He put their guns in
his own pockets.
Their work had been quickly done; now Harry thought of the torture chamber
and the stairs to the tower. The Shadow had rescued them; now he was at bay!
Superman though he might be, this strange being of the night was human, and his
retreat was cut off by the terrible ape-man, who possessed the strength of a
gorilla!
The thought maddened Harry. He pictured a lifeless body on the winding
stairs that led to the tower, with Jupe snarling above his fallen prey.
The Shadow's aid ran toward the ruin, and a cry came from his throat. Two
forms had appeared upon the top of the old tower. One was tall and lithe in the
moonlight; the other was a bulky, crouching figure.
Major Weston had heard Harry's cry. The Englishman raised his automatic.
It was a long shot, but his aim was on the ape-man when Harry seized his arm.
The two figures had closed together; they were locked in conflict!
The sight was weird and amazing. The Englishman uttered a cry of surprise
as he saw the tall figure push the bulky one backward. It was unbelievable that
the strange fighter in black could resist the power of the ape-faced monster.
Yet the conflict seemed equal. The ape-man was recovering now, and for a
moment The Shadow appeared weakened. Then both forms stood motionless,
apparently at ease. But the observers on the ground knew that each of them was
using all his strength.
"I'm going up the stairs!" exclaimed Harry.
"Wait!" Major Weston's voice was commanding. "You can do nothing on the
tower. You would be hurled aside in that terrible struggle. Your place is here
with me. If they separate for an instant we must shoot to kill the monster."
They watched the battle helplessly. At times the figures swayed. Once the
ape-man staggered backward, and the major's finger was on the trigger of his
automatic. The next instant The Shadow had followed up his advantage. Again the
grappling shapes were locked.
Minutes went by - terrible, tense minutes - while the weird fray continued
beneath the glare of the risen moon. Then the strength of the ape-faced man
became more apparent. It was Jupe who was fighting strongly now.
"There will be a break," promised Weston, his voice betraying his anxiety.
"My aim is true, even at this distance. But I must wait until they are apart."
"The monster is forcing the fight," groaned Harry. "We cannot wait long.
It will be too late."
AS if in answer to the gloomy prophecy, the two forms on the top of the
tower moved steadily toward the parapet. For a tragic moment the figure of The
Shadow seemed to lean over the edge. Then, imbued with sudden strength, it
regained its former position. Yet the ape-man still held the advantage.
Again human strength began to yield as the power of the fiend increased.
The Shadow's form seemed to collapse, going down beneath the bulk of the fierce
monster. It reappeared, a twisted shape, half-thrust from the edge of the ruined
tower.
Two long arms lost their clutch on the ape-man. They spread apart and
grasped the low stone parapet. The head and shoulders of The Shadow were
projecting above the wall. The cloaked avenger was making his last fight for
life!
Then came the sickening finish. The Shadow rose in one final effort. He
staggered, arms wide, his black cloak fluttering in the night breeze. Weston's
automatic thundered as Jupe stepped back for the spring, but the shot went
wide. The ape-man merged with his faltering victim. The tall form was lifted
upward. Then it was head downward; the cloak draping on the parapet. The two
figures sank as the monster crouched to throw its victim to the ground beneath.
A portion of the parapet gave way as the fighters flattened against it,
and a living form fell with the shower of stones, the black robe winding about
it as it crashed to its doom on the stones beneath. A crouching figure was
silhouetted on the tower.
The Englishman's eyes had rested for an instant upon the shapeless mass
that lay among the ruins of the old building. Instinctively he had followed its
fatal fall. Now he saw the sinister form by the broken parapet, but as he fired
a well-aimed shot, the figure disappeared.
Harry Vincent was clambering over the ruined building, risking his limbs
amid the loose stones. His companion followed him. Their one thought was for
the man who had fallen. Perhaps through some miracle The Shadow was still alive!
The black robe covered the body. In the glare of the Englishman's
flashlight, Harry pulled the cloak aside and stared at the upturned face. A cry
of amazement followed. It came from Harry Vincent.
He was looking at the evil countenance of Jupe, the ape-man. In its final
spring the monster had become entangled in the black robe of The Shadow. Its
powerful body had broken the crumbling parapet. The fierce creature had plunged
headlong to its death while The Shadow had managed to hold on in safety as the
cloak ripped from his shoulders.
The crouching figure that had remained on the tower was The Shadow!
A sudden noise startled Harry. He looked back toward the entrance to the
cellar. Two men were fleeing through the moonlight toward the woods. They were
well away, close together. One of them appeared to be carrying something.
Chefano and Frenchy were free!
"We cannot stop them," cried Major Weston. "One of them must have slipped
the ropes and aided the other."
Harry watched the men as they vanished among the trees. He clambered back
over the loose stones. Reaching the steps, he entered the passage, with the
major close behind.
"Where are you going?" asked the Englishman.
"To get the wooden box," replied Vincent. "It was intended as a coffin. It
will do for the ape-man's body."
"Hush!" exclaimed the major, as they reached the end of the passage. "I
hear something."
A moaning sound came from behind the door of the vault. They opened the
barrier. Their flashlights showed a man lying on the floor, bound with ropes.
They released him. The Englishman uttered a cry of recognition when he saw the
man's face.
"It's Berchik!!" he exclaimed. "I remember him! Samanov's trusted servant.
He is the messenger. They captured him! He must have come while we were in the
torture chamber!"
"And now they are gone," muttered Vincent. "Chefano and Frenchy - gone -
gone with the stolen wealth."
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE HAND OF THE SHADOW
A LOW-BUILT coupe was whirling along a Pennsylvania highway, its yellow
hood shining in the moonlight. Two men were laughing as they watched the road
flow rapidly beneath the wheels of the car.
"Great work, Frenchy," said the man at the right. He turned and opened a
box that lay in the center of the seat.
The box was cubical, measuring approximately one foot in each dimension.
It rested free between Chefano and Frenchy; its opened lid revealed a shimmer
of sparkling contents that caught the glint of the dash light. Chefano closed
the lid and turned a key. Leaning back, he stared forward through the
windshield.
"Lucky it was gems instead of gold," asserted Frenchy, his eyes intent on
the road ahead. "They must have used the gold for other purposes and sent the
sparklers over here because they were easier to carry."
"That's probably the idea," said Chefano. "I wonder how that messenger
brought them in. He must have smuggled them."
"Getting by the American customs would be easy," was Frenchy's reply.
"Easy, compared to sneaking them out of Russia. Why worry about it, Chefano?
We've got them. That's enough."
"Yes, and we're lucky. I wonder who it was that let those fellows loose.
Could it have been The Shadow they were talking about? Was that him fighting
Jupe on the tower, do you suppose?"
"Probably. And he got what was coming to him."
"I wonder where Jupe went."
"I suppose he's hiding somewhere. Why think about him? You're better off
without him, Chefano. He's done his work. He doesn't know enough to talk, even.
He can't give you away if they do catch him."
Chefano laughed. Frenchy could see his lips twist as he gazed in the
mirror of the car. He thought he saw a dark form, too, and two tiny spots of
light, like fires. It was not wise to watch the mirror, going at his high speed.
"It's been a wild night," said Chefano. "First that little surprise you
didn't warn me about. That worked out very nicely when we put the two men on
the rack. We handled the Russian messenger in the best possible way. When he
walked in with the box under his arm, thinking we must be friends, I couldn't
resist it. It was so easy to knock him down without any argument.
"Yes," agreed Frenchy, "but if you had had your way and opened the box
right then and there it would have been very bad when Vincent and the
Englishman came in. I shoved the box under the table while we decided what to
do next. One minute later they popped up."
"We did the best thing when we ran for it," said Chefano. "They never
thought to watch us while that fight was going on up at the top of the tower.
When I got loose and started to free you, my one idea was to get the box and
clear out."
"They couldn't have followed us through the woods," said Frenchy. "If they
had known where my car was - in that old barn down the pike - it might have been
bad. But once we were away - well, we're going to keep right on going."
"We?" said Chefano sharply. "We? You've been paid for your work, Frenchy.
It's my lookout from now on. But you've been so useful that I'm going to give
you some extra cash."
"You'll split the swag fifty-fifty," asserted Frenchy.
"What do you mean?" demanded Chefano. "How about Isaac Coffran? I've
worked with him for years."
"Leave him out this time."
"Nothing doing. I'm too wise for that, Frenchy. I don't double-cross any
one so smart as he is."
"All right. Split it three ways, then."
CHEFANO'S lips twitched as he seemed to consider the matter.
"I'll tell you what, Frenchy," he said. "Twenty-five per cent for you,
deducting what you've already received. That is, if Coffran will agree."
Frenchy's teeth shone as he smiled. He did not reply at once. The car was
following a curving course; his eyes were on the road as he tried to maintain
the rapid speed.
At last he spoke.
"That might do," he said. "But when you figure that we have the swag now -
all ours - here in this car -"
He stopped as Chefano uttered a sharp exclamation. Frenchy looked down at
the jewel box. A hand was upon it - a hand that came through the open window at
the back of the coupe! Only the hand was visible in the moonlight. Frenchy could
not see the arm.
"You have the swag?" whispered a mocking voice. "You are wrong. It is
mine!"
The gloved hand lifted the box by the handle. The motion was slow -
deliberate - uncanny. Frenchy's eyes had leaped back to the road as he righted
the car along a sloping curve.
"I won't stop, Chefano!" he cried. "He can't get away at this speed. We're
going too fast. Grab him! It's The Shadow!"
Chefano thrust his hands toward the box, which was almost to the rear
window. A black-clad arm swung the box swiftly to the right. It crashed against
Chefano's face.
Frenchy's right arm was quick. With a swift glance he directed his motion
and caught hold of the box with his hand. He still watched the road, steering
the car rapidly around a bend with his left hand on the wheel.
"Help me!" he exclaimed to Chefano.
There was no response. The other man was groggy from the blow he had
received.
Frenchy felt the box slipping from his clutch. He turned his head in
desperation. He saw a black form at the back window of the car. He threw
another glance at the road, then vainly tried to halt the momentum of the car.
Not twenty-five feet ahead was a red light of warning, mounted upon a
white fence that marked a sharp turn in the road. It was too late for action
then. The automobile smashed the heavy fence as though it had been built of
match sticks. Over the edge plunged the car - a sheer drop into the river below.
The men in the car were trapped as the automobile sank beneath the water's
surface. The river was deep beneath the cliff. The coupe turned completely over
as it fell, tossing its occupants about inside the body. But before the car
reached the water, a long figure shot clear of it and was precipitated twenty
feet beyond.
Out in the river a head appeared among the ripples that had followed the
tremendous splash. The head seemed to float for a few moments, then the swimmer
struck out for shore. He clambered from the river; in his hand he supported a
box.
The hand of The Shadow had regained the stolen wealth. The box had been
plucked from the death car the instant that it had made its fatal plunge.
But there had been no escape for Frenchy and Chefano. Trapped within the
closed doors of the coupe, the crooks had been enveloped by a surge of water
through the opened rear window. Their car had sunk into a hollowed depth
beneath the cliff. Thirty feet below the stream's surface, two fiends of crime
had found their proper doom.
ON the following evening, Harry Vincent and Major Hubert Weston arrived at
the home of Bruce Duncan. They brought with them Berchik, the messenger of the
late Prince Samanov. They had come following instructions which Vincent had
received by wireless early in the morning.
The loss of the Samanov fortune had come as a stunning blow to Bruce. His
duty still remained - to recover the jewels and to divide them among the heirs
of the unfortunate men who had been murdered.
"We have only one hope," maintained Harry Vincent. "I expect The Shadow to
act immediately against Isaac Coffran. The old man is in the game. Through him
we may locate the stolen wealth. He must be forced to give us information that
will lead us to the two crooks who escaped."
"Isaac Coffran is gone," replied Bruce Duncan soberly. "We have no clue.
Remember, Abdul and I have a score to settle with that man. Last night Abdul
visited the old house with my consent. The place was empty. The door was
unlocked. Everything of value had been removed. Isaac Coffran is too clever to
have left a single trace that would tell where he has gone."
The men looked at one another gloomily. Each was thoughtful, but their
silence indicated that none of them could propose a course of action.
The door opened. Abdul entered, for once the calm Hindu seemed excited. He
was carrying a cube-shaped box; already his fingers were turning the key that
projected from its lock. The lid came open as Bruce Duncan seized the casket.
Vivid sparkles flashed from within the box. Out upon the table, Bruce
poured a dazzling array of shimmering gems: rubies, sapphires, emeralds, along
with glinting diamonds. A rare topaz slid to the edge of the table. Berchik
stopped the skidding gem; then dipped his fingers into the mass of treasure.
"The Samanov jewels!" cried the Russian. "Here - all here! They have been
regained!"
"Who brought them here?" queried Bruce Duncan, turning to Abdul.
"There was a knock at the door, sahib," declared the Hindu, solemnly.
"When I opened the door, the box was upon the steps. I saw no one - no one but
a great dark shadow. I saw two burning spots, like eyes. Then they were gone.
Only darkness stayed there, sahib."
While the others stared at Abdul in amazement, a thought flashed through
Harry Vincent's brain. Those spots that Abdul had seen were living eyes; the
burning optics of a weird avenger who had conquered crime. They were eyes that
Harry had seen in the past; eyes that he would see again, when he encountered
new adventures in the service of a mysterious master whose command meant law to
Harry Vincent.
The eyes of The Shadow!
THE END