arrange a banquet; and he's the sort of customer that I ought to bring in here.
His name is Lamont Cranston."
"You mean the guy that pals around with the police commissioner?" queried Pinkey. "Say - that's neat! You're right, Ondrey: he's one guy that oughtn't to
be kept waiting. Come on you lugs" - Pinkey turned to his other companions -
"we're moving out -"
Slick was nearest to the wall behind Ondrey's desk. He pressed the edge of
a panel; the woodwork slid apart to reveal a tiny elevator. The three men entered it; Slick was about to close the secret door when Pinkey stopped him.
"Listen, Ondrey," remarked Pinkey, "we're going back to the hide-out. I got a phone there, but there's some calls I'd rather make from here -"
"You mean to Maude Revelle?"
"Yeah. So you call her for me. Tell her I'll meet her at the usual place an hour from now. That'll give you time to talk to this Cranston guy, first."
Ondrey nodded. Mention of Cranston reminded him that he didn't want to keep the visitor waiting. He reached for the telephone, gave the order to usher
Mr. Cranston into the office. While Ondrey was doing that, Slick closed the elevator door.
Ondrey prided himself on that secret elevator. It was slow in operation, because it was designed for silence. There wasn't the slightest rumble from the
hidden shaft; nor even the vibration of a cable as the elevator made its ascent.
Ondrey stepped to the office door. He opened it to see Cranston coming through the passage from the night club.
A few moments later, Ondrey was bowing a hawk-faced visitor to a seat in front of the desk. Reaching into a drawer, the night club owner brought out a box of very special cigars, finer even than the brand that Bugs liked to smoke.
It was while Ondrey was bent above the desk drawer that Cranston's ears caught a distant sound, so slight that Ondrey did not notice it. That noise was
the muffled clang of an elevator door, closing, somewhere, a few floors above.
With the sound, Cranston's eyes went instinctively to the paneled wall behind Ondrey. There, his keen eyes picked a vertical line in the ornament woodwork. Gauging sight with sound, Cranston had the answer. He knew that Ondrey had talked with at least one visitor tonight.
More than that, Lamont Cranston could name the man who had departed. He was sure that Ondrey's principal visitor had been the lone-wolf racketeer, Pinkey Findlen.
For behind the masklike countenance of the supposed Lamont Cranston lay the brain of The Shadow!
CHAPTER VII
THE MEETING PLACE
IT required only ten minutes for Lamont Cranston to make arrangements for a banquet to be held at the Bubble Club. He named the date as ten days in the future; and Claude Ondrey was more than pleased to learn that Cranston intended
to invite the police commissioner to the affair.
That was the sort of news that Ondrey knew would go over well with Pinkey Findlen.
However, Ondrey's beaming smile began to fade, when Cranston continued the
discussion further. For some reason he wanted to settle many matters, including
such details as the banquet menu. Thus he prolonged his interview with Ondrey until nearly half an hour had passed.
During the first ten minutes, The Shadow sensed that Ondrey had something on his mind. He foresaw that subtle stalling tactics might reveal more; and the
system worked.
Toward the end of the half hour, Ondrey's fingers were itching to get at the telephone; and his constant glances in that direction flashed the fact that
he had an important call to make. Ondrey was at last relieved to see Cranston arise, ready for a leisurely departure. Ondrey bowed the visitor out to the night club; then, after a quick handshake, the portly man hurried back to the office.
Ondrey would have been startled had he taken time to look over his own shoulder.
Idly, Cranston turned about, as if he had forgotten something in the office. His easy action attracted no attention from the waiters. But once he was within the little passage leading to the office, Cranston disappeared.
In fact, as he stopped within a darkened corner of the passage, he seemed to draw blackness all about him.
That phenomenon was explained by the fact that The Shadow had planted his cloak and hat in that particular corner. He had entered the night club by a side door, carrying the garments over his arm. Starting first for Ondrey's office, he had left his garb in that convenient spot; then had stepped into the
night club to find someone who would announce his arrival to Ondrey.
CLOAKED in black, The Shadow made quick strides to the office. The door was unlocked, as he expected, for Ondrey hadn't wasted time in getting to the telephone. The night club owner had just managed to get his number, when The Shadow peered in upon him.
Through the crack of the door, The Shadow could see Ondrey at the desk; and every word that the man uttered was plain.
"Hello... That you, Maude?" Ondrey was smiling when he recognized the voice. "Yes, this is Ondrey... Yes, Pinkey was here; but he didn't have time to
call you... Yes. He'll meet you. At the usual place..."
There must have been a flow of talk across the wire, for Ondrey fidgeted for the next two minutes. At moments, he opened his mouth as if to say something; but he couldn't manage to insert a word. When his chance finally came, Ondrey spoke pleadingly.
"Don't be angry, Maude," he insisted. "It was actually my fault that you weren't called sooner... I know you don't like The Hayrick, but it's one of the
few places where Pinkey can go...
"Here? Certainly he comes here; but he always stays in the office... No, he never goes into the night club... No, it wouldn't be safe. At least, that's what he says. Pinkey's supposed to be on the lam...
"You'll meet him? That's good! But you'd better hurry... Yes, he'll be at The Hayrick within the next half hour..."
The call finished, Ondrey mopped his forehead, shaking his head as if in testimony that the ways of women baffled him. He came out to the night club proper. Ondrey saw no sign of The Shadow in the passage.
The cloaked intruder had stepped to that blackened corner where he had formerly placed his cloak and hat.
Moving into Ondrey's office, The Shadow, began a rapid search of the desk.
He found nothing in the way of evidence that linked Ondrey with Pinkey Findlen.
In fact, The Shadow wasn't at all certain that Ondrey knew the details of Pinkey's present racket. The only way to settle that point would be to accost Ondrey and question him. But with the chances to the contrary, it was preferable to leave Ondrey alone, particularly because he might prove useful later.
Moreover, The Shadow saw an excellent chance to meet Pinkey himself, when the racketeer reached The Hayrick. Mention of the place by name was all that The Shadow had needed. The Hayrick was well-known as a nightclub in Greenwich Village.
FINISHING his short search of Ondrey's desk, The Shadow tried the paneled wall. He found the hidden catch, opened the panel and looked into the elevator shaft. There he saw a switch and pressed it to bring the car downward.
The elevator hadn't quite reached the bottom, when The Shadow heard muffled footsteps beyond the door of Ondrey's office. He waited coolly, calculating that the car might arrive before Ondrey entered. It did.
The Shadow was aboard and closing the panel when Ondrey opened the office door. He caught a glimpse of the portly man speaking to someone in the hall.
The panel went shut while Ondrey was turning about. The fellow did not notice its motion.
This time the silence of Ondrey's private elevator worked against its owner. The Shadow made the slow trip to the top of the shaft. He found himself in the deserted fourth floor of a building that had once been a private residence.