You began too soon. You should have forgotten Daniel Antrim. Your mistake has been made. All plans are doomed to fail. The Shadow knows.
A startled exclamation came involuntarily from Ferret's lips. The stoop-shouldered man realized his error. The others were staring at him.
Ferret, in alarm, made a move to tear the sheet of paper. But as he drew away, Major reached forward and plucked it from his hands. Glaring, Major held the paper for a moment; then passed it to Judge, while he continued to watch Ferret.
"Listen, Judge," Ferret began, turning his head away from Major's glare. "Let me tell you—" He leaned forward to point to the paper, about to frame an explanation for the facts that it mentioned. Ferret's words died suddenly on his lips. The sheet at which Judge was staring was perfectly blank.
"What's the idea?" questioned Judge abruptly. "Look at this, Major — you, too, Butcher.
There's nothing here! Come clean, Ferret! What's the matter with you?"
Ferret's shrewdness served him well. He could not understand why the writing had vanished. But the fact that it was gone gave him his chance. He relied upon a half truth to serve him at this critical moment.
"There was writing on it, Judge," he said. "Words written right there — on that piece of paper."
"What did it say?" demanded Judge sternly.
"It said something like this," replied Ferret, as though recalling the words, "something like this: 'All your plans will fail. The Shadow knows.' That's exactly what it said, Judge!" The sincerity in Ferret's eyes was convincing. Major's glower ceased. These four had talked of The Shadow, last night. Yet Ferret could not have brought up that name on the spur of the moment.
Judge, Major, and Butcher thought alike. All three knew that they, individually, would have been startled had they read the words that Ferret had just repeated aloud.
Judge was holding the paper to the light. Ferret was momentarily troubled. But Judge's inspection brought no results. No trace of the writing remained. Judge placed the paper upon the desk. He looked from one man to another.
"There is a chance," he declared, "that some one of our group might plan to double-cross the rest of us. There is always such a chance. But I do not consider it likely."
"All of you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. There are games in which one may profit at the expense of others. This game is not of that type. There are Five Chameleons — and enough profit for fifty!"
All nodded their agreement.
"Where did you find that paper, Ferret?"
"In this envelope," was the reply. "On the floor, in the teller's cage." Judge examined the envelope carefully. He placed it with the blank deposit slip.
"Unless you have lost your mind, Ferret," he said, "this note is significant. It means that there is a menace — close by. It means that someone has entered here!"
"How much do you think he knows?" questioned Major anxiously.
"Very little," replied Judge sagely. "If he knew much, he would not reveal himself. He wants to make it appear that he knows more. He has tried to work on Ferret as a starter. He has too much to learn.
"However, we may expect danger, tonight. Be ready for it. Be sure, when you come, that there is no one hidden here. Use every precaution — at both ends. Tell Deacon, Major.
"I shall be at Harvey Bronlon's. I am relying upon you three — and Deacon. If any of you should suspect anything, be sure and let me know before it is too late.
"I think I see the scheme in back of this. Some man — the one who calls himself The Shadow — wants to worry us!"
"He has worried me," asserted Major. "He's started me thinking, Judge. I'm going to come out with it straight. I'm not accusing Ferret of a double cross. All I think is that Ferret has been making some slip. If he has, let him talk right now!"
A shrewd gleam came into Ferret's eyes.
"Look here, Judge," he said. "I see it different. There's only five of us know this lay. All right. I get a phony note. It's got me fooled. You saw that when I read it. I swear I read what I told you.
"Who sent that note? Well, if you want to know what's right in my mind now, I'll tell you. There's four people who might have left it where I'd find it. I'm not accusing anybody, either. I'm just telling you what might be."
Judge, sitting with folded hands, nodded wisely. He studied Ferret closely; then looked squarely at Major. Finally he glanced at Butcher. Then he raised his eyebrows, and all knew that he was considering Deacon. At last Judge spoke.
"I see the game now," he said emphatically. "It has worked. So we will end it. Already, Major suspects Ferret. In turn, Ferret suspects someone else — perhaps Major. Butcher and I have said nothing. But we are wondering, too.
"You see the damage that has been created. We are Five Chameleons — who have worked as one. No one can defeat our plans — except ourselves. Dissension and mistrust can ruin us. Are we going to let it?"
"Not on your life!" exclaimed Major. "You've hit the spike square, Judge! Put it there, Ferret!" Major thrust his firm hand across the desk, and Ferret seized it with a grin. Butcher was nodding his approval. All suspicions had vanished. Judge beamed approvingly.
"Be early, tonight," he said. "It's up to you three — and Deacon. Forget everything else. Work together." All three nodded in agreement. Judge dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
The tension was ended. There might be danger for some unknown person, but they were ready for it. When the three had left the office, Judge sat alone. He was thinking, hands still clasped, of tonight. He was thinking of The Shadow. For Judge, shrewdest of the Five Chameleons, who had adjusted themselves to extraordinary circumstances, was acknowledging The Shadow as a foe that did exist. Sitting there, in his office, the perfect picture of a bank president, Judge was analyzing with the mind of a master criminal.
What did The Shadow know? It did not matter how much he knew. If his knowledge was merely sufficient to be of use to him tonight, there could be but one wise course for him to take.
Judge's eye swept over the floor of the banking room. He studied the door, the windows, the offices, and the vault. His face gleamed, and his thin lips hardened in a curving smile. Judge had heard of The Shadow — the master who worked alone. Judge, too, was a man who worked alone.
These others were his tools.
The Shadow was ready to match his skill against five. Let him try, tonight! For these Five Chameleons were not five of a kind. In reality, they were four — and one.
The others were the four. Judge was the one.
The Shadow and Judge. One against one!
But Judge would have four to help him!
Chapter XVI — The Four Prepare
Major and Deacon were together. Standing in the melancholy room that served as morgue and storeroom, they were conversing in low tones as they discussed this evening's plans. They were a rare pair, these men. Both were true Chameleons. Major had the bearing of an army officer. He played the part of a bank cashier to perfection. He could bear himself with distinction in any community.
Deacon possessed a different type of adaptability. His habitual solemnity was a part of him. His ministerial air, his somber personality — both granted him an immunity from suspicion.
He filled his present role to perfection. He was the best funeral director Middletown had ever had. Although the keen mind and personality of Judge towered above these men, Deacon and Major, as a combination, were virtually the equal of their chief. What one lacked, the other possessed. Where Butcher relied upon bravado, and Ferret upon intuition, Major and Deacon both excelled in cool deliberation and resourcefulness. They were the ones who had engineered the superb killing which had been laid upon Hubert Salisbury.