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“This is serious, Mr. Arnaud.” Tellert sobered. “May I ask that you keep this interview as a matter of confidence? Really, my position is most embarrassing. I have been hoping only that Jark would soon return. Now I am beginning to doubt him altogether.”

“I shall mention this to no one,” assured The Shadow, steadily. “Only one matter still puzzles me, however. What do you intend to do about Jark’s disappearance?”

“I can only wait,” answered Tellert, mopping his forehead. “Wait — for a few weeks — maybe for a month. Then, if I have heard nothing from Professor Jark, I shall be forced to place the matter in the hands of the proper authorities.

“But to brand Professor Jark as a swindler will be a drastic step. One, I assure you, that will prove damaging to my own reputation. For my clients have always placed great store by my opinions. I must certainly wait, for a month at least, before proclaiming publicly that I have been a dupe.”

Tellert managed to smile hopefully after this statement; but it was evident that new apprehensions troubled him. He shook hands with his visitor as he accompanied him through the outer office.

The skyscraper which housed Tellert’s suite of offices was known as the Lambreth Building. Outside that towering edifice, The Shadow strolled away toward Times Square; then increased his pace to a brisk walk. The figure of Henry Arnaud mingled with the crowd.

LATER, a light clicked in The Shadow’s sanctum. Although it was daytime in Manhattan, this secluded room was black save for that one spot where blue light glowed upon The Shadow’s table. Hands came beneath the glow. Upon a sheet of paper, The Shadow wrote the single word:

CRIME

A sibilant laugh. The word and the mirth summed The Shadow’s findings. He had seen the one point of contact through which Professor Jark and the men with him could be reached.

Bruce Duncan’s story was valuable. The Shadow knew of Matt Theblaw and Digger Wight. The former was a smart ex-racketeer who had long been latent. The latter had done time for safe-cracking, and had not recently been seen in New York.

Their statement, to Bruce Duncan, that they had come from Tellert, had obviously been made to deceive the young man. Bruce’s observation and his eavesdropping proved clearly that Professor Jark could have contacted with these criminals outside his home; and given them a cue for introducing themselves when they met his secretary.

It was definite that the crooks had agreed with Jark to lull Bruce into thinking that all was well. Despite the presence of mobsters from that time on, Bruce might have fallen for the game had he not overheard the last portion of Jark’s conference with Theblaw and Wight.

Half an hour, Bruce had said. Those thirty minutes of early discussion must have been important. Had Bruce overheard that portion of the conference, he might have learned facts that would give The Shadow a definite trace to the present whereabouts of Jark and the professor’s new associates.

As it was, Bruce had been lucky to get away. Crooks must have planned to take him with them to wherever they were establishing new headquarters. Once he had managed to leave the house on Delavar Street, the plotters had decided that his death was necessary.

At present, Bruce Duncan was safe. From him, The Shadow had learned all that could be gained. Two new leads had arisen. The Shadow had followed both. Doctor Nordis Baird was supposedly on vacation. The Shadow knew that the specialist must have been abducted.

Baird was necessary to Jark. Hence the physician must be at the new headquarters. But Baird’s own penchant for keeping his vacation plans unknown even to his associates meant that it would be impossible to pick up the physician’s trail.

By interviewing Tellert, The Shadow had learned the promoter’s side of the story. At present, Tellert was latent. He did not intend to do anything about Professor Jark’s disappearance for a month at least. Nevertheless, Tellert’s future actions might have some important bearing on the activities of Professor Baldridge Jark.

THE SHADOW inscribed brief coded notes. One to Rutledge Mann; the other to Harry Vincent, for delivery through the investment broker. To these agents he was deputing the task of cautiously watching Basil Tellert, for the definite reason that crooks might also be keeping close check on the promoter.

Jark — Baird — Tellert — not one gave present promise. In that trio, The Shadow saw how one man had been duped and a second kidnapped to serve the wiles of a master plotter. The Shadow, in his own meeting with Professor Jark, had gained an inkling of the old man’s cunning.

He had divined how capable Jark was at playing a double game; how craftily Jark could cover up his real purposes. Talking with the supposed Lamont Cranston, Jark had made himself out to be a friendly individual who had merely taken drastic measures against trespassers.

Yet all the while, crooks had been listening in on Jark’s shrewd palaver. Neatly, the professor had avoided all mention of his disintegrating ray, that device which both Bruce Duncan and Basil Tellert had sketchily described.

Crime. Therein lay The Shadow’s contact. The change of Professor Jark’s abode indicated that plans were ready. The collaboration of Matt Theblaw and Digger Wight showed that quick-acting crooks were on the job, ready to use Jark’s invention to the limit.

Bruce Duncan had escaped. Although Jark, Theblaw and Wight thought that Bruce knew less than he did, they must realize, nevertheless, that the missing secretary could eventually cause trouble.

Crooks were holding Doctor Nordis Baird. There, again, would be difficulty in the future, when Baird’s associates realized that his prolonged absence meant abduction. Another point. Basil Tellert, within the next few weeks, would be forced to proclaim that Professor Baldridge Jark was a swindler.

Finally, The Shadow himself had entered the game. Captured, he had bluffed the foe. But crooks would know that he would not rest until he had carved deeper into their hidden game.

Crime, therefore, would be immediate. The stage was set for it. Quick, swift thrusts, with rapid clean-up, could be the only course. Matt Theblaw and Digger Wight were backed by a brainy master who would certainly order these lieutenants to lose no time.

Crime would strike in Manhattan. That was another logical deduction. Matt and Digger knew this terrain and their contacts here. New York offered the richest opportunities, with the greatest number of varied striking points.

Crime would be covered. Workers like Stinger Lacey would be used to trick the police into thinking that ordinary criminals were pulling routine jobs. That was The Shadow’s final deduction. It marked the course that he intended to follow at once.

Earphones came from the wall. Burbank’s voice came over the wire. In whispered tones, The Shadow issued instructions. Orders to Cliff and Hawkeye. Through these agents in the underworld, The Shadow saw means of counteracting the strokes of evil that soon would be due.

CHAPTER XII

CLIFF’S PROPOSITION

EARLY evening showed a glittering bright spot west of Sixth Avenue. Blazing lights atop a marquee proclaimed to Gothamites that the Club Cadilly offered the best floor show in Manhattan with no charge other than the price of a dinner.

Customers were entering the place when a taxi pulled up outside. Moe Shrevnitz was at the wheel. The passengers were Cliff Marsland and Hawkeye. Cliff alighted. He was attired in tuxedo and made a striking appearance as he entered the Club Cadilly.

Moe drove away, with Hawkeye huddled in the back seat. Around the block, a three-minute trip brought the taxi back to its starting point. Hawkeye, also tuxedo-clad, alighted and walked into the club.