Again The Shadow spoke. Yat Soon nodded before responding. The Chinaman’s tone was solemn:
“My watchers had seen an American man depart from Loon Goy’s. He was one whom they seen not seen enter. They wondered; and to me they brought that word. Then did I know that this man you seek had gone away.
“He has learned that we have watched. Hence my watchers are there no more. Chinese people are easily seen among others when they venture forth from Chinatown. Yet it may be that the man you seek — the American, Diamond Bert — will some time come back to the laundry of Loon Goy and Hoy Wen.”
Yat Soon paused. He heard a brief question in Chinese that came from The Shadow’s lips. Yat Soon nodded, for the second time.
“I know that you are right,” he said. “No more will Diamond Bert be as a Chinaman. Not as Wang Foo, whom he once was; nor as Tam Sook, who is dead. He will be American.
“It is wise that you should have watchers of your own to spy upon Loon Goy and Hoy Wen in their laundry. Should you find that you must deal with them, you may call upon me. I should like to give the punishment to Loon Goy and Hoy Wen.”
A word from The Shadow. Yat Soon bowed. He stepped to the side of the room and pressed a switch.
A panel rose close beside him. The Shadow passed through that exit. The panel descended. Through a new maze of passages, The Shadow traced a downward course. Doors opened of their own accord, apparently controlled by Yat Soon in his hidden room. The last opening brought The Shadow into a small, dingy cellar. He ascended a flight of steps and came out upon a secluded street.
SOME distance from Chinatown, yet fringing the East Side, was a district that spoke of bygone importance. Here were square-walled buildings, eight stories high, blocked close together, with only tiny passages between.
The plate-glass windows of wholesale houses were in evidence. One of these was backed by heavy metal bars. The name painted on the window declared:
MARLIN NORSE, INCORPORATED
WHOLESALE JEWELER
Eyes from the darkness observed that legend. Then a phantom figure glided through the opening between the building and the next. The Shadow had come here from Chinatown. He found bars on the rear windows; but he had no difficulty in entering the building itself, through a door that did not lead directly into Norse’s.
There The Shadow found a strong door connecting with the jeweler’s. The glimmer of The Shadow’s flashlight showed an electrical connection in the form of an antiquated burglar alarm. This device was no trouble to The Shadow. He skillfully detached the connections; then worked on the door itself.
Soon The Shadow stood in Norse’s darkened store. The bulk of an old-fashioned safe showed on the other side of the room. That box would have been easy for the average cracksman. In fact, its old fashioned style was proof that Norse must deal chiefly in quantity lots of cheap jewelry that would offer no lure to burglars.
Of greater interest to The Shadow was a doorway that led to a space behind the shop. He entered this and found a passage that terminated in a flight of inside stairs. Evidently they led up to living quarters, where Norse could stay over night if he chose.
To the right was another door. It was locked but unprotected by alarm devices. The Shadow probed its lock. He unfastened the door and entered a little office. Here were drawn window shades that hid the bars outside the windows.
There was a small safe in the corner. Like its big brother in the outer store, this box was obsolete. The Shadow passed it and went to a desk in another corner. Using his flashlight, he began to unlock drawers and draw out record books that he found there.
These showed facts concerning Norse’s business. Figures told of transactions in which the wholesaler had acted as agent. The real valuables that Norse sold never came into his possession. There were also pages of figures that concerned large quantities of cheap jewelry. These did not interest The Shadow.
The silent investigator was looking for something else; searching for a prize that he seemed sure he would find. At last, his quest was ended. Dipping deep into a drawer, a gloved hand felt among a box of paper clips. Fingers, unhampered by their thin covering, obtained another object and brought it into the light.
There, held between blackened fingers, shining dully beneath the rays of The Shadow’s torch was another of the Chinese disks!
CHAPTER XIII. FARROW’S VISITOR
SLADE FARROW was seated by his living room window. Comfortable in his secluded apartment, the sociologist was reading the morning newspaper. He was particularly interested in the latest story that concerned the robbery at Tatson’s.
Karl Joland was wanted for the murder of Gorwin and for the theft of his employer’s gems. The police had lost the secretary’s trail; but they appeared to be making a thorough investigation of his past. The sociologist studied a picture of Joland; one that Tatson had given to the newspapers. Farrow shook his head. He wondered why the law had centered on this one man. His lips moved as though framing a question.
Then, to Farrow’s astonishment, came a verbal answer to the very thought that was in his mind. From somewhere close beside him, a quiet voice responded:
“Because of the disk.”
Farrow dropped the newspaper and stared. A stranger was seated in a chair not five feet away. Farrow had never seen this personage before. The visitor was tall; that was apparent despite the fact that he was seated. He was quietly dressed; his features were steady, almost masklike.
A hawklike nose dominated the visage that Farrow studied. The sociologist also caught the glint of flashing eyes. Recovering quickly from his startlement, Slade Farrow felt a steady thought come drumming through his brain. He knew that this visitor was The Shadow.
Farrow was correct. Here, at ten o’clock in the morning, The Shadow had arrived to confer with him.
But the disguising features which The Shadow had chosen were ones that he seldom used. He had not come here as Lamont Cranston; nor was he utilizing other physiognomies that he had worn frequently in the past. The Shadow had arrived as a nameless personage.
Farrow shifted mechanically in his chair. A flood of impressions gripped him. Dave had gone out a while before. That had paved the way for The Shadow to enter unseen. Yet Farrow, himself, was surprisingly alert. It seemed impossible that any one could have entered without discovery.
“You were wondering about Karl Joland.” The Shadow spoke in an even tone, his words slow, but clipped. “Your expression betrayed that fact. Therefore, I gave you the true reason why the police seek Joland. Because of the disk.”
“Joland had a disk?” inquired Farrow, finding his voice.
“You have read the newspaper report,” replied The Shadow. “It includes all the details except one. The newspaper states that Joland discarded one suit for another. It was in the pocket of the discarded suit that Detective Cardona found a Chinese disk.”
Farrow nodded. He had read the facts thoroughly. The arrival of the telegram. The time that Joland’s train departed. The fact that the secretary did not take the train. Even the point regarding the front light that Gorwin had failed to turn on before half past nine. The story had also included mention of Joland’s note, found in Gorwin’s pocket.
“I see,” said Farrow. “The secretary was a logical suspect. The only trouble is that he is a bit too logical. He might have planned things better, if he were naturally a crook. He might have done worse if he were inexperienced at crime. But since a disk was found in his pocket—”