Angelo’s words were heard. Although a thick wall intervened between this room and the house beside it, all that was said was audible, thanks to an invisible wire that ran through the window and out along the wall. In the next house, a man was seated at a table, with ear phones pressed to his head, taking down phonetically each remark that was uttered.
Burbank, contact agent of The Shadow, had taken new headquarters. Although he could not speak Italian, Burbank was a marvel of efficiency. His phonetic notes would be repeated exactly as he heard them, when he contacted with The Shadow.
Another drama of crime was impending. Soon Crix would strike again. Victor Venturi would be sent to thwart him; once more the aid of The Shadow would be needed! Again, he would go back to the source!
CHAPTER XV
THE SHADOW HEARS
THE little room above Duke’s place was again occupied by two men who talked at the little table beside the wall. Bumps Jaffrey, gang leader, and Bart Shallock, confidence man, were in conference.
There had been no disturbance in connection with this meeting. Downstairs, Duke’s speakeasy was quiet. No sweatered gangster had appeared upon the scene.
Nevertheless, The Shadow was again present. The location of this room was known to him. The windows opened at the inner corner of the alleyway; and there The Shadow had found an opportunity to arrive unseen and unheard.
A form of blackness, totally invisible as it moved slowly upward, The Shadow had reached the window immediately after Bumps Jaffrey had entered the speakeasy. The blackness in a corner of the room was the only token of his invisible presence. There, a thing of darkness, The Shadow listened as he had on that previous night.
The same subject held the attention of the speakers. The affairs of Crix, the supercrook, were of momentous consequence. Bart Shallock, suave and convincing, was buzzing words of confidence in Bumps Jaffrey’s ear. The display of a stack of currency brought a pleased grin to the gang leader’s face.
“Ten grand more,” commented Bart Shallock. “There’ll be plenty coming to you, Bumps.”
“There ought to be,” grunted the gang leader. “Listen here, Bart. Another job like that last one is out. Get me? Out! I don’t care what you offer me. I’m not taking chances with The Shadow.”
“You’re crazy, Bumps.”
“Yeah? You’re a great guy to talk. You weren’t there. There’s only one bird who could raise Cain the way that guy did. The Shadow — that’s who it was.”
Bumps nodded emphatically as he spoke. Bart Shallock shifted uneasily in his chair. The confidence man, despite his feigned disbelief, knew that Bumps Jaffrey was correct.
“Let me give you the lay, Bumps,” offered Bart, resuming a smooth, purring tone. “Things went bad the other night — that’s all. Now is no time to quit the game. I’ve heard from Crix again—”
“Yeah? Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He talked over the telephone. But he told me more, and he wants you to stick. That’s all. You’ve got to stick, Bumps. I’ll tell you why.
“Crix is playing a smooth game. He had things fixed out there at Bosworth’s. You and the mob were just waiting in case of a pinch.”
“There was a pinch, all right,” commented Bumps, in a sour tone.
“It was just a bad break,” returned Bart Shallock. “Venturi was the one that queered it. Somehow, he found out that Crix was in the game — that Crix was putting over a fast one. Venturi is a safety man; there’s another guy supposed to be collecting dough. Crix is in on the ground floor.
“If your men had been on the job down at the Dexter Hotel, Venturi would never have got out to Bosworth’s. But he got there — and he tried to queer the game for Crix. That left it up to you, Bumps. You had two things to do — help Crix make his getaway and hand the bump to Venturi.”
“Well,” growled Bumps, “Crix got away, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” responded Shallock, “but so did Venturi. That’s the tough part about it. There’s no telling where he is. It’s a sure bet that he will show up to spoil the next lay.”
“I get you. More trouble for me, eh?”
“More work for you, Bumps. When I get the tip from Crix, you have the mob ready.”
“The mob!” Bumps spoke in a disgruntled tone. “The mob’s shot, Bart. Look at that mess down at the Dexter Hotel. I figure The Shadow must have been in that. Out at Bosworth’s place — well, I was the only one that got away — no, Skeeter Wolfe managed to crawl out before the cops got there. Say, Bart — I can’t dig up a bunch of gorillas to walk into The Shadow the way the others did—”
“Don’t worry,” said Bart Shallock suavely. “I don’t know what Crix has in mind, but I do know he’ll be ready for funny business this trip. Within a couple of days, he’s going to show up on another job. When he gets there, he’s liable to find Venturi. This will be your chance to get Venturi right.
“Use your head, Bumps. There’ll be plenty of mazuma in it. We aren’t taking chances, either. This time, Crix wants you and the mob to duck out of sight. Keep out of sight, until you get the word through me.
“Don’t start from New York. Pick a hideout and keep the gang moving around from one place to another. You won’t get the tip-off until you’re needed. The Shadow — if he’s mixing in it — won’t be able to keep up with you.”
Bumps Jaffrey nodded. This seemed like a good plan. The crinkling bills which the gang leader held were an incentive. Bumps could use more money.
“O.K., Bart,” he said. “I’ll have to move around now and begin to pick out some new gorillas.”
“Get good ones.”
“Leave that to me. I’ve got one bozo on tap who’s a knock-out.”
“Who is he?”
“Fellow named Cliff Marsland. Wants to work with me. I’d rather have him than half a dozen ordinary gorillas. He has brains.”
“Are you sure you can get him?”
“Yeah. He drops in at Brindle’s nearly every night. I’ll see him there.” Bart Shallock smiled. He could see Bumps Jaffrey warming up. He knew that it was time to say no more. Rising, Bart clapped the gang leader on the back and walked from the little room. Several minutes later, Bumps Jaffrey followed.
THERE was a motion in the corner. The spectral figure of The Shadow emerged from darkness. The Shadow had heard. The Shadow knew. Crix, despite his narrow escape at Sturgis Bosworth’s, was planning to go on with the game. This time, the supercrook would be more dangerous than ever.
Would the new adventure be similar to the last? Crix — Victor Venturi — Bumps Jaffrey — then The Shadow? Those four participants again would meet; but this time, circumstances would surely take a new turn.
A battle of wits as well as brawn was in the offing. Crix was preparing; so was The Shadow!
The tall form glided silently through the window. It disappeared into the darkness of the alley. Swallowed by the night, The Shadow had left to plan his campaign.
Less than an hour later, Cliff Marsland, strolling up Broadway, stopped to make a telephone call. He heard the voice of Burbank over the wire.
“Accept Jaffrey’s terms,” came Burbank’s even order. “Forward all important information. Meet him at Brindle’s tonight.”
Continuing up Broadway, Cliff entered the cafe, wondering how The Shadow had learned that Bumps Jaffrey would be here with a proposition tonight. Cliff waited at a side table, and smiled to himself when he saw the gang leader enter and look about the restaurant. Bumps Jaffrey waved as he spied Cliff.
“Marsland,” spoke Bumps, as he sat down at the table, “I’ve got a job for you. How about it? Want it?”