“Then the snooper showed up. We grabbed him. Marty called you, like he was supposed to do. When he got through talkin’, Marty told me that you wanted to meet us—”
“Marty’s crazy!” roared Flash indignantly.
“That’s what I thought” agreed Lance pleasantly. “I was for bumpin’ the guy right away. But Marty said we were goin’ to wait for you at Howley’s. That’s where we went — like he told you when he called up.
“When we got there, he climbed out of the car to look around.”
“A fool idea,” interjected Flash.
“That’s what I told him,” insisted Lance. “It gave me the heebie-jeebies. Then I figured I could tie the can on the foolishness. The guy we nabbed was tied up in the back of the car. I pulled my smoke wagon an’ was all set to give him the works.”
“Why didn’t you do it?”
“I would have. Only a guy pops up from nowhere an’ grabs me. If Marty had been in the buggy with me, we’d have been all right.
“But the guy gets my gun, an’ when I heave him out of the car, he gives me a twist, an’ I land on the back of my head. I was knocked cold, Flash.”
“So was I,” interposed Dip.
“Shut up,” growled Flash. “Lance has got an excuse. You haven’t! Go on, Lance.”
“I got one shot in,” continued Lance. “Just one, before I got socked. But the shot didn’t do no good, except to wake up Marty, wherever he was.
“While I was lyin’ cold, he tried to plug the bird. But the guy got him instead. An’ away he goes, in the bus.”
“Well, you didn’t do so bad, Lance. Marty was to blame. He’s out of it from now on.”
“You’re right he’s out of it!” Lance agreed. “He’d be pushin’ up posies, if I hadn’t been there. I got him off in a taxi an’ took him to a medico who don’t ask questions. He won’t be back on the job for a month.”
“We can do without him,” said Flash.
“Yeah?” There was a peculiar significance in Lance Bolero’s tone that made Donegan stare. “Maybe you could do without me, too. I’m not workin’ shorthanded — not after what I found out. I talked to Marty while he was groanin’ in the cab.”
“What of it?”
“Well, I found out who it was that got him.”
“Who?”
“The Shadow!”
FLASH DONEGAN stared hard at the speaker. Dip Riker did the same. An expression of unbelief appeared on Flash’s face. The racketeer’s lips formed a sour grin. His countenance changed, however, when he looked at Dip Riker.
The evil-faced gangster was white. His eyes were those of a hunted creature. The mention of that one name — The Shadow — had struck terror into his heart.
Flash Donegan became uneasy when he witnessed his henchman’s fright. He looked again at Lance Bolero. He saw that the swarthy gunman was as perturbed as Dip.
“The Shadow!” Flash attempted to echo the name with ridicule. But the hushed tone of his voice was ominous.
He laughed shortly; then added: “Somebody’s put one over on you, Lance. What did this guy look like?”
“I didn’t see him,” responded Bolero. “I grabbed him — but it was dark. There ain’t no ordinary guy can break my strangle hold, Flash. I never run into a bird like this one, before.
“When I came to, I was wonderin’ what had happened. Then, when Marty spilled his story, I knew who it was, all right!”
“I’ve heard a lot of fool talk about this four-flusher they call The Shadow,” said Flash, in an even tone. “But I always thought it was punks who were scared of him. Not gorillas like you fellows claim to be.
“Great stuff! Falling for a lot of hokum—”
“Listen, Flash.” Dip was talking earnestly. “Lance ain’t handin’ you no hokum. If Marty Jennings said it was The Shadow, he ain’t foolin’. Marty’s seen him before.
“He ain’t the only one I know that’s seen him. If we’ve crossed The Shadow, it’s goin’ to be tough for all of us. I’m tellin’ you!”
“He’s a bad actor,” declared Lance. “There’s a lot of fellows that ain’t around to tell what happened to them, after they tried to buck The Shadow.”
Flash Donegan was impressed by these statements. Secretly, he had felt fear when he had heard Lance Bolero’s revelation. His pose of unconcern was merely affected to keep his henchmen from becoming more alarmed.
“What did you find out about this guy Vincent?” Flash questioned Dip. “What was his game? Where’s he from?”
“I figured him for a dick,” replied Dip. “Couldn’t get anything on him.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what he’s doing,” declared Flash. “He’s working with The Shadow, that’s what! He must have got there ahead of The Shadow — up at the warehouse.
“Well, The Shadow got him out of a jam, but he won’t do it again!”
FLASH began to pace the room, talking in a low voice, as though expressing thoughts to himself. There was a purpose in this action. He wanted to fill Dip and Lance with confidence by giving them an idea of their own importance.
“The Shadow, eh?” Flash was sneering. “Tough guy? Well, he’s not tough enough for us. If he’s what they say he is, he’ll be back up there, snooping.
“It won’t do him any good tonight. He couldn’t crash that gate without a charge of dynamite. But we’re not going to let any chances slip. We’re going to get The Shadow!”
He gazed at his henchmen impressively.
“We’ve only been watching there when something was doing,” he continued. “But from now on, it’s every night. Marty’s on the fritz. That means there’s only two of you. Dip can’t be there all the while.”
“I gotta pal,” began Lance.
“We need more than one,” declared Flash. “I’m getting up a mob, boys. It’s going to be curtains for The Shadow!
“Now you two keep mum. Be sure of the gorillas you get. Take on some bozos that are quick with the rod, and not afraid to use it. I don’t care who we have to bump off — so long as we get The Shadow.
“Remember, I’m slipping you fellows some extra gravy, and I’m counting on you!”
“How many rods do you want?” questioned Dip.
“Four. Besides you two,” was the answer.
“I’ll get two,” asserted Lance Bolero. “I’ll have Tony Caprona and Gringo Butz on the job tonight. They were goin’ to join up with Bush Holman’s crew, before Bush got bumped off. I’ll have them tonight. Tony an’ Gringo, both.”
“How about you, Dip?” asked Flash. “I’m interested now in this guy you were telling me about.”
“Cliff Marsland? He’s an ace, Flash. Just came in from Chi. He’s a killer. Smooth with the rod. He’s worth any two guys—”
“Get him, then. Find another guy besides. Keep on the job from now on. You take charge, Lance — up there. You’re to keep me posted, Dip, like you’ve been doing.
“And look over these rods that Lance is getting. Tell me if they’re O.K. Any guy that looks suspicious — give him the works.”
The two gangsters nodded in unison. Flash Donegan waved them to the door. When they were gone, the smooth-faced racketeer took a bottle from behind the table and poured himself a drink.
“So The Shadow’s in this, eh?” he growled. “Well, it’s going to be too bad for The Shadow. I know his game.
“The Shadow works alone, as a rule. That’s what they say. Well, I don’t work alone. When I need a mob, I get one. That’s what The Shadow’s up against — a mob!”
Flash poured himself another drink, and stood grinning with the bottle in his hand.
“Even Dip and Lance don’t know,” he said in a low voice. “Even they don’t know what this racket’s all about. If they don’t know, The Shadow isn’t going to know. The Shadow — a big shot — nix!” Flash laughed his contempt.