Land…………Black Bell
Large…………Red Lantern
Night…………Black Gate
One…………Green Gate
Pride…………Purple Sword
Silver…………Red Crescent
Single…………Red Coin
Small…………Red Sun
Spring…………Red Spider
Statue…………Black Pagoda
Three…………Green Coin
Treasure…………Purple Bird
Two Blue…………Coin
Unlocks…………Yellow Poppy
Welcome…………Yellow Pagoda
Wisdom…………Blue Crescent
These were evidently terms that Colin had selected from a large assortment. He had a little stack of papers — the ones that bore the symbols in the list — and he set this pile carefully to one side, while he replaced the rest in the Mah Jong box. Nervously, Colin looked up from the table and stared toward the door of a darkened bedroom.
He had gained the sudden impression that eyes were watching him; but he saw nothing, and as he listened, his qualms ended. The net result was that Colin thrust the little stack of papers into his pocket, along with the special list. He started to light a cigarette; but stopped suddenly as he heard the telephone bell.
ANSWERING the call, Colin heard Dave Kelroy’s voice. Anxiously, he began to make inquiry. Most of the conversation was plain from Colin’s end of it.
“Hello, Dave…” Colin was tense. “I’ve been wondering where you were. What’s that? At the Thurbley Hotel? Why did you go there?…
“I see… You had to keep up the bluff with Mark and Dryer… Well, that was good business… So they took you out to the museum, did they?… Dryer’s idea? I thought so. Did you learn anything?…
“No? Well, that’s too bad… Yes, we can talk it over later… Yes, I have to go down to the club… All right, I’ll leave the door unlatched so you can come up here and turn in early… I see… You’re under the name of Lawdon…
“Well, that’s better than Kelroy… Yes, it was a good idea to register, even though you don’t intend to stay at the Thurbley… Certainly. On account of Mark and Dryer… Yes, they might happen to telephone you… Best to have a room there…”
Colin ended the call. Strolling past the first bedroom, he entered the second and turned on the light. He pushed the drawer almost shut and began to lay out a tuxedo for evening wear. Colin was whistling in cheery fashion. He had suspected nothing from Dave’s call.
Blackness stirred from within the first bedroom. A tall, cloaked shape emerged into the glow of the living room. Keen eyes looked toward Colin’s door. The Shadow had observed Colin’s sorting of the prayer papers; but he had not been close enough to note their symbols. He had finally gained an opportunity.
Away from the range of the door, The Shadow opened the Mah Jong cabinet. He began an inspection of its contents, his long, quick fingers selecting those prayer papers that bore words in English. It required only a few minutes for The Shadow to make two discoveries, with conclusions.
First: these were not ordinary prayer papers that conformed to the usual type found in Chinese temples.
The symbols apparently belonged to a classification of their own. They were different from any that The Shadow had previously seen. Their purpose, however, was obvious. Temple priests, by taking clusters of these papers, could form crude sentences. Knowing the code, they could then give interpretations to the faithful who had come to consult them.
Next, there were no duplicates among the papers that were marked with English translations. There were, however, symbols that remained unexplained.
From this, The Shadow deduced that there was only one master set of translated symbols in Colin’s collection. Those that Colin had thrust into his pocket were from the key group; hence the remaining lot was incomplete.
The Shadow had recognized the purpose of these papers. They could be used to translate symbols upon silken tapestries, like those which he had seen at the bazaar in Chinatown. The papers that Colin had removed were vital; but there would be no use in gaining them without also holding the tapestry that was in the teakwood box with the silver dragon cover.
The Shadow replaced the prayer papers in the cabinet. He blended with the darkness of the empty room, just as Colin came from the bedroom.
The young man strolled across the living room, unlatched the door and went out into the hall, pressing a light switch just before he closed the door. The apartment was filled with darkness.
Quickly, The Shadow entered the living room; then the far bedroom. His flashlight glimmered upon the coat which Colin had first been wearing. The pockets were empty. Colin had transferred prayer papers and list to his tuxedo pocket. The Shadow went out into the living room; thence to the hall. He descended rapidly by a pair of gloomy stairs.
OUTSIDE, Colin was starting the coupe. Just as the long car pulled away from the curb, a figure glided from the front of the apartment building. With a quick bound, The Shadow gained the rear of the coupe.
Riding upon a fender, he opened the rumble seat. Its space was ample; The Shadow slid into the interior.
Colin never noticed a jar.
After a quick trip, the coupe came to a stop. Some seconds passed, the top of the rumble seat opened.
Peering out, The Shadow saw Colin ascending the steps of a pretentious building. The Shadow knew the place. It was the Club Monterey. The Shadow dropped to the street. He prepared to follow farther.
Inside the club, Colin stopped near the bar. While he was standing there, Hype Mellick strolled into view, coming from the alcove that led to the telephones. Hype noted Colin; a signal passed between them. Individually, they went toward the gambling room.
A few minutes later, a stocky man came in from the outside door. It was Durling. The private investigator gazed about in quizzical fashion. While Durling was still gazing, another arrival made his entrance. He was a tall, calm-faced stranger, whose features were masklike. He was carrying a small bag which he placed in the hands of an attendant.
The Shadow had gained entrance to the Club Monterey. Like Durling, he was looking for Colin Eldreth.
But The Shadow, unlike the private dick, knew that his quarry had entered. The Shadow strolled into the roulette room and surveyed the crowd that was playing there.
Soon, a door opened on the other side of the room. Colin Eldreth stepped into view, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette. He strolled over to the roulette table; there he shook hands with an acquaintance, who introduced him to a friend. The Shadow heard Colin addressed by name.
The Shadow’s attention was elsewhere, also; toward that door through which Colin had come. The door was opening again. This time it was Hype Mellick who appeared. The gambler passed the roulette table, heading toward the outer room. The Shadow watched his progress. He had seen the man before.
For Hype Mellick had long possessed a shady reputation, one that he had carefully bolstered during recent months. He had learned the value of an alibi; he had also found it wisdom to stay away from crooked pals. Hype had been watched by the law; and he knew it. But he had never guessed that he had been at one time under The Shadow’s surveillance.
The Shadow had expected to witness contact between Colin Eldreth and someone at the Club Monterey. That contact had been made; The Shadow’s next move was to shift his trail. He intended to follow Hype, without dropping Colin. He was thinking also of Dave Kelroy. For The Shadow knew that Dave must be the man whom he had twice saved in Chinatown.
STROLLING from the roulette room, The Shadow paused to again note Hype Mellick. The gambler had gone directly into the telephone alcove; he must have made a quick call, for he was already returning.