“How do you think he got wise?” questioned Jerwyn, anxiously.
“How?” Lunk laughed sourly. “Ask him — not me. But I’ve got an idea.”
“You mean Lorenna?”
“Yeah.”
Jerwyn paced nervously. Lunk laughed again as he puffed the stump of his cigarette.
“Don’t get jittery,” he snarled. “That ain’t the way to act. Sit down. Get steady. Listen. I’ll tell you why there ain’t no reason to worry.
“The Shadow was trying to find out who was pulling these swell jobs. He learned something. He must have seen that you and Lorenna were going to some nifty places; that the mob always landed at some house where Lorenna had been invited.
“So what did he do? He watched here. He must have seen me come in and go out. So he kept his eye on my mob. That’s how he wised up that we were going to Croman’s last night. He showed up and smeared the mob. The bulls popped in and finished the work.”
“You saw The Shadow?”
“Yes. I scrammed. Now here’s the way I figure it. The Shadow may keep on watching this dump. But he’ll be looking for me — that’s all. But he won’t see me. There won’t be no more jobs. The Shadow will know that he gummed the works. He’ll have other things to keep him busy.
“Meanwhile, you keep on taking Lorenna to ritzy houses. Be on the level with this fortune telling stuff. Run your mitt camp downstairs. No phony business. The Shadow won’t bother you.
“It’ll be a long while before Lorenna gets the dope that Valdo wants. I’ll be hiding out. I’ll let you know where you can get hold of me. When Lorenna gets the low down on the money guy that has the Spanish sparklers, I’ll be ready.”
“You mean to split on the dough?” questioned Jerwyn. “To see if you can make this international crook cough over more than the twenty-five grand?”
“Nah!” Lunk scowled. “Say — do you think I’m cuckoo? If you can snag that dough, you’re welcome to it. I’m going after something bigger.”
“The gems?”
“Sure. Say — why do you think that guy told Valdo to offer you twenty-five grand for Lorenna’s work? I’ll tell you why. Because those sparklers are worth plenty more than the dough he’s willing to put up.
“It’s soft for you, Jerwyn. All you’ve got to do is stall Valdo. When Lorenna gets the dope, don’t let the gyp know it. Tip me off, instead. I’ll have a new mob ready. We’ll grab the sparklers.”
Claude Jerwyn nodded. He saw chances for a big share in the purloined profits. He also realized a chance for a perfect double-cross.
“I get you,” he said. “We’ll work it your way, Marty. But the night that you go to grab the stuff, I’ll give the dope to Valdo. I’ll collect the twenty-five grand. I’ll take it on the lam — and Lorenna will go with me. But remember — I get my cut on your job, too.”
“Ten percent.” agreed Marty. “The regular rate. If you want to trim this smart guy that Valdo talks about, that’s your own racket. You’re welcome to it. Let me get those gleamers — I know how to fence the stuff for plenty.”
Marty Lunk arose. He nudged his thumb toward the door. Claude Jerwyn nodded as he turned the lock.
Then, with a worried expression on his face, Jerwyn gripped Lunk’s arm.
“There’s only one thing, Marty,” he said. “About the Shadow—”
“Forget The Shadow,” sneered Lunk. “If he goes after anybody, it’ll be me. But how is he going to find me? I’ll be hiding out until I’m ready for the job. Then it’ll be one quick smash, before he can get wise.”
Jerwyn nodded. His qualms were fading.
“I ain’t taking chances,” assured Marty Lunk. “Why do you think I came in through the skylight tonight? Just because The Shadow — or some stool of his — might be watching outside. I’m leaving the way I came.”
“Sh-h!” warned Jerwyn, as he turned the knob of the door. “Don’t let Lorenna hear you.”
Lunk quieted. Jerwyn opened the door. The gangleader tiptoed along the hall. He opened a door that showed a pair of stairs, leading upward.
“If I have to see you,” he told Jerwyn, in a low tone, “I’ll come in from the roof, like I did tonight. I used the old house over in the back street. If you want me, call Red Mike’s and ask for Muggsy Wagram. He’s the only guy that knows where to find me.”
Marty Lunk ascended to the attic. Claude Jerwyn, listening, heard a skylight open and settle into place.
Jerwyn closed the door. With a smile upon his pasty lips, the cadaverous man returned to his own quarters.
ONE hour later, a tiny bulb flickered on the wall of The Shadow’s sanctum. White hands stretched forward beneath the rays of the table lamp. Earphones clattered into view.
“Burbank speaking,” came a voice.
“Report” whispered The Shadow.
“Report from Vincent,” informed Burbank. “Valdo has returned.”
“Report received. Vincent off duty.”
A whispered laugh sounded as the Shadow replaced the earphones. Well did the master sleuth know the significance of Valdo’s return. It meant that Rodney Casper had complied with Claude Jerwyn’s request for five thousand dollars in advance.
The deal was completed. Lorenna, the gypsy fortune teller, would begin her new task. In her visits to homes of the elite; in the readings that she gave to those who came to her own parlor, the gypsy palmist would be working to uncover important information.
Sooner or later, Lorenna would learn the identity of the person who now owned the Duke of Almanza’s stolen gems. That was the time which Rodney Casper would await.
The Shadow knew Valdo’s scheme. The Shadow would prepare to deal with Rodney Casper. But The Shadow’s plan was due to meet revision. Marty Lunk, engaged in secret preparation, was entering as a new factor in the events that were to come.
CHAPTER IX. ON LONG ISLAND
THREE weeks had elapsed since The Shadow’s secret visit to the home of Claude Jerwyn. A lapse of quiet had followed crime and scheming. The Shadow — like others — was waiting for developments.
Under certain circumstances, The Shadow knowing that some New Yorker possessed a store of hidden jewels, would have begun an investigation of his own. Present conditions, however, caused The Shadow to withhold such action.
Rodney Casper was still at the Hotel Gardley. Harry Vincent had taken an adjoining room on the same floor. The Shadow’s agent was in a position to notify his chief whenever Valdo visited Casper. Thus The Shadow had preferred to leave the discovery of the gem owner to Lorenna.
Yet The Shadow was not entirely inactive. Though he had not learned of Marty Lunk’s entry into the situation, The Shadow was keeping tabs on Lorenna’s work. Apparently, Claude Jerwyn had passed up Marty Lunk, in order to deal with Valdo. That marked Jerwyn as a man who placed his own interests first.
From that inference, The Shadow had recognized that Jerwyn would be ready to desert Valdo, should occasion offer better opportunity. Hence, The Shadow was keeping check on Lorenna and her manager.
The light was burning in The Shadow’s sanctum. The earphones were in use. Word was coming through from Burbank — reports that the contact man had received from The Shadow’s agents.
“Report from Vincent,” came the voice across the wire.
“Report,” ordered The Shadow.
“All quiet at the hotel,” announced Burbank. “Casper is staying in this evening. Vincent is on watch.”
“Report received.”
A pause; then:
“Report from Marsland.”