“Is that Laudring?” demanded Cardona.
Satsu nodded.
“Who murdered him?” inquired Cardona.
“I don’t know, sir,” replied Satsu. “I was not here in the house. Mr. Laudring sent me to the precinct.”
“Before he called headquarters?”
“He did not use the telephone, sir, before he sent me out.”
“Let’s see that key in your pocket. The one Parker found when he was frisking you.”
Satsu produced the key.
“What does this unlock?” asked Cardona. “The door to the cellar?”
Satsu hesitated; then nodded.
“Is that where the Fate Joss is?” demanded Joe. “The idol that Laudring told us he had here?”
Satsu trembled. He stared, wild-eyed. Cardona knew that his thrust had gone home.
“Spill it!” growled Cardona. “What about Roucard! Who killed him? The same fellow that got Laudring? What about this Fate Joss that Roucard took away? Who brought it back?”
Satsu weakened under the barrage of spasmodic questions. Pitifully, he raised his hands. Confronted with all these facts, he was ready to speak.
“The Fate Joss was here,” he admitted. “In the cellar, when Mr. Roucard came here last night. He had men take it away. Through a path at the back of the cellar. Today — today, we found the Fate Joss here again.”
“Who do you mean by we?”
“Mr. Laudring and myself, sir.”
“And the Fate Joss is there now?”
“Yes, sir. With the cannons called the War Dogs. The Fate Joss is very large. It is nearly the weight of half a ton.”
“We’ll take a look at it.”
Carrying the door key, Cardona marched Satsu downstairs. The policeman followed; Joe stationed him at the front door. Casey and Parker joined the acting inspector. Joe unlocked the cellar door, found the light switch and turned it on. The trio then escorted Satsu to the cellar.
The Korean’s face showed relief. There was reason — for Satsu knew that he could build a creditable story. He was almost eager as he marched ahead of Cardona’s revolver muzzle. Between the coal bins, Satsu spoke.
“The Fate Joss is here, sir,” he said. “In the very center of this cellar. With the War Dogs—”
Satsu gasped. He had reached the space ahead; close in back of him were Cardona and the detectives. But where Satsu had expected to see the towering glitter of the Fate Joss, nothing remained but vacancy. The idol was gone; not even the squatty dog cannons remained as testimony to its former presence.
Beyond was the heavy door that covered the underground passage. Its strong bolts were closed. Weirdly, incredibly, the half-ton Joss and its brazen guardians had vanished from their underground abode.
CHAPTER X
THE GUARDED JOSS
“WELL? Where’s the Joss?”
“I–I don’t know, sir. We saw it here. That was why Mr. Laudring sent me for the police.”
Joe Cardona had made the query; Satsu had delivered the stammered reply. Speaking choppily, the Korean stared about in dazed fashion. His bewilderment was unfeigned.
It was plain that the cellar could not contain the Fate Joss. Blank, whitewashed walls were everywhere, except at the coal bins. They were low; and the light showed almost all of their interiors. Devoid of crates or boxes, the bins offered no possible hiding place for so huge a statue as the one that Satsu had described.
“You didn’t lug it out,” decided Cardona, eyeing the Korean. “That’s one thing certain — providing this idol is as big as you’ve said it is. Those Chinese upstairs didn’t have a chance; and the ones that Casey says had a truck were coming — not going.”
“That truck was empty, inspector,” put in Casey. “We grabbed it after the Chinese ran away. But say — if anybody did try to get the thing out of here, how would they drag it up the steps we just came down?”
“They would not use the steps,” said Satsu, in sudden answer to the question. “Mr. Roucard took the Joss through to the house behind here.”
“That’s something,” inserted Cardona. He eyed Satsu steadily. “Do some more talking, fellow. It will be good for you. You say Roucard took the Joss away last night?”
“Through those doors,” stated Satsu, nodding as he pointed. “That was the only way that the Joss could go.”
“But they’re barred now,” began Cardona; looking toward the far end of the cellar. “Barred — from this side of the doors—”
Cardona got no farther. Momentarily, he had eased his revolver away from Satsu’s ribs. Casey and Parker had edged in from the passage between the coal bins. Satsu, his eyes showing a quick, cunning blink, had seen an opportunity.
With a quick leap, the Korean darted away from the men who held him. He dived for the passage between the coal bins.
Cardona, wheeling, shouted for him to stop. Satsu kept on. Joe leveled his revolver and fired. His shots were too late. The bullets ripped splinters from the boards of the narrow passage; but Satsu gained the turn and clattered up the stairs.
CARDONA was after him, with the detectives close behind. At the bottom of the steps, Joe caught a glimpse of the fugitive springing through the doorway at the top. Cardona fired another hasty shot that sizzled wide. He and his companions headed up the stairs. A revolver barked while they were coming.
The cop at the front door had heard the first shots below. He had yanked a revolver and aimed for Satsu when the Korean appeared. He had not been quick enough to stop the dodging fugitive. Satsu had dashed through the dining room, making headway for the opening back door. Cardona and the rest continued their pursuit.
The chase followed to the alleyway. Flashlights blinked long glares; one beam showed Satsu reaching the street. He had gained on his pursuers; hurried shots failed to wing him. The four men kept up their chase. A patrol car whined into view as they arrived on the street.
Angrily, Cardona ordered an intensive hunt. Turning back, he started through the alleyway. More men were needed here; Cardona would summon them from headquarters. Police surgeons as well; for deaths must be investigated. The murder of Chichester Laudring in particular.
While Cardona was returning, fuming at the slip that he had made in letting Satsu escape, a figure was moving from the deserted cellar where the Fate Joss once had been. The Shadow, his cloaked figure plain in the light, was coming from an inner corner of an empty coal bin.
He had headed back into the cellar after his fight with the five Chinese. He had used his pick to lock the door behind him. He had bided here until the advent of Cardona and Satsu. The Korean’s dash for liberty had given The Shadow an excellent opportunity for departure.
Hidden in the coal bin, The Shadow had seen nothing of Satsu’s escape; but he had quickly guessed what had happened. Taking the stairs, The Shadow reached the ground floor to find it deserted. Deciding that the chase had led through the back door, he calmly stalked through the front way and reached the outside street.
Lamplights here were infrequent. With full darkness settled, The Shadow found no difficulty in making a departure. He heard the whining of police sirens in neighboring blocks; and at times he paused to listen for other sounds. Threading his way through the terrain, The Shadow showed purpose other than his desire to leave here unobserved. He was trying to cross Satsu’s trail. As much as the police, he would have liked to question the slippery Korean.
The Shadow had heard enough to know that Cardona had captured some servant of Laudring’s. Satsu’s peculiar accent was indication that the man was a Korean; for The Shadow had met with others of that race. He could have guessed Satsu’s identity had he encountered the man. But The Shadow found no sign of any lurker who had hidden in this neighborhood.