“Certainly. And that was a ridiculous place to leave it! But we can’t discuss that matter. You must hurry away before Marquette arrives.”
“O.K. But what about the answer?”
“Call for it in the morning. It would be too great a risk to prepare one while I am expecting Marquette.”
“I get you. I’ll slip the word along that you’ve got the new dope. You’ve read the note, haven’t you?”
“Certainly. Tell the chief I understand. He will receive my reply in the morning.”
Knight urged Cady out into the hall and closed the door. The Shadow withdrew across the bedroom. He was past the adjoining door when Knight returned. The Britisher did not go back to the writing desk.
Instead, he made a trip to the living room, brought a tuxedo from a wardrobe trunk and proceeded to don the evening attire.
A knock announced Marquette just as Knight completed dressing. The Englishman admitted the secret service man; then the two made their departure.
Shortly afterward, The Shadow emerged from his hiding place and approached the writing desk. From the drawer he removed two coded sheets.
The Shadow studied the first message that had been delivered in New York. Producing paper of his own, he copied it number for number:
10 21 8 3 1 22 17 5 11 6 6 22 21 16 19 18 25 25 25 1 12 21 4 18 18 2
9 24 5 9 8 15 7 20 9 9 11 10 24 7 7 14 3 20 1 9 26 26 16 5 8 6 3 23
4 5 5 24 6 26 25 17 2 20 1 17 18 4 9 21 3 3 6 5 4 20 22 20 14 1 41 18
13 16 3 24 10 10 13 25 22 19 11 20 8 2 3 26 24 1 1 18 2 3 4 3 25 24 4
4 4 16 4 7 17 18 19 4 18 18 1 19 22 24 24 15 5 24 3 9 8 19 9 9 22 1
22 15 9 20 20 26 25 1 19 8 5 18 20 23 1 8 24 1 4 4 20 1 9 7 19 6 6 7
20 19 7 20 2 20 24 6 25 25
The Shadow recognized the second sheet as the one upon which Knight had been working tonight. It was in the same code as the first. The Shadow copied it:
10 20 24 6 6 13 10 11 20 6 25 1 17 17 14 10 4 7 24 3 18 19 19 1 20 12
20 8 21 3 4 1 5 16 4 1 25 25 23 4 6 5 5 7 20 22 20 26 25 6 24 23 1 12
2 9 2 44 6 6 17 6 12 25 13 3 4 11 11 1 19 12 19 19 10 26 4 5 26 23 21
1 24 23 24 5 20 22 22 1 4 8 5 24 23 8 2 18 3 4 3 3 20 2 20 22 2 3 3
11 20 6 25 24 3 3 3 5 20 21 8 18 24 5 24 20 20 6 25 1 20 24 2 7 20 26
25 25
The Shadow replaced the original messages in the drawer. He did not seem to regard Knight’s check marks as informative. The Shadow left the desk lamp burning, since Knight had forgotten to turn it out.
Then the cloaked investigator departed through the connecting door.
SHORTLY afterward, a light clicked in a darkened room. The glow of a different desk lamp showed long-fingered hands. The Shadow was in his own room at the Skyview Plaza. His hands produced the copies of the code. Eyes from the darkness above the lamp were keen in their study of the numbered lines.
A rare girasol glimmered from the third finger of the hand that held the copies spread upon the desk. This matchless fire opal was The Shadow’s emblem. Its glowing depths seemed to reflect the mystery that enshrouded the weird investigator.
The Shadow’s right hand poised a pencil. A soft laugh whispered from darkness as The Shadow marked a circle about three numbers that appeared together in the first coded message. Each of these three numbers was the figure 4.
Again a laugh crept through the darkened room as The Shadow picked three clustered numbers in the second message. Each figure in this group was a 3.
The Shadow had found a starting point. His work would continue until he had deciphered these cryptic messages that had been passed to the man called Jarvis Knight.
CHAPTER XII. FROM THE STRONG ROOM
AT twenty minutes after ten the next morning, Cady arrived in the corridor outside of room 604. The sneaky crook was wearing his bell-hop’s uniform. He looked about cautiously, however, before he rapped at Jarvis Knight’s door.
There was no response. Cady’s face twisted. The phony bell boy gave another look along the corridor then rapped more loudly; he seemed determined to gain a response.
The door opened. Cady bowled in to find Jarvis Knight attired in slippers and dressing gown, blinking sleepily. Knight made no effort to close the door, so Cady took that duty upon himself.
“Well, well,” laughed the Englishman, gruffly. “What’s up? Why show so much excitement, chappie?”
“This is the fifth time I’ve been in here,” whispered Cady, hoarsely. “I called on the telephone a couple of times. I was thinking that maybe you’d croaked.”
“I had a large evening,” explained Knight, sitting down and rubbing his head. “That beggar Marquette is a real man about town. Deucedly well acquainted with the bright spots of Washington. It was four o’clock when I rollicked home.”
“It’s twenty after ten now,” informed Cady.
“My word!” exclaimed Knight. “Marquette is to be here at half after. It’s fortunate that you finally roused me. You must bob out of sight before he arrives.”
“I’ve got to get that answer,” stated Cady. “Listen, Jed — I mean Knight — Clink gave me a buzz this morning. Told me I had to get that answer to him, so he could pass it along to the big boy.”
“That’s not astonishing,” remarked Knight. “I presumed that Clink would be anxious. He did not display anger, did he?”
“He seemed sore about something,” replied Cady. “Maybe it’s because he’s been keeping under cover since he blew into town yesterday. He slipped me that note when I met him at the Union Depot.”
“You explained why I could not give you the reply last night?”
“Sure! He called me up from wherever he is. I told him all about it. Said he guessed he wouldn’t need the answer. But this morning, he tells me he’s got to have one. I’m to get it and hold it until he calls again and tells me where to meet him.”
“And in the meantime,” remarked Knight, staring severely, “keep that waistcoat downward. So it will cover the silver rupee that you are still wearing. I keep my coin out of sight, all the while.”
He reached into the pocket of the dressing gown and produced the rupee. Cady nodded, as he understood that Knight always kept the coin on his person.
“Very well,” decided the sharp-faced Britisher. “Clink shall have his answer. I shall prepare it at once.”
THERE was a table in the living room. Knight went to it and produced paper and ink. Cady watched him behind the careful inscription of a note. Knight appeared to be using the code from memory.
Cady noted that the Britisher wrote several numbers swiftly; then paused to concentrate before he began another group. He had inscribed three times when he uttered a growl and crumpled the sheet. Knight tossed the paper in wastebasket and began a new message.
This time, he wrote the first lines swiftly; then resumed his process of deliberation. Cady was fidgety; and Knight noticed it. He shot an angry glance toward the bell hop.
“Stop making me nervous,” growled Knight. “How can I write this message while you are shifting about? Curb your impatience—”
At that moment the telephone bell range. Knight arose to answer it. Cady’s face twitched nervously as the stoop-shouldered crook listened to the brief conversation.
“Hello…” said Knight, gruffly. “Oh, hello… Yes… Certainly, Marquette… What’s that? Hello… Hello…”
Hastily, Knight clashed the receiver and swung to Cady. He motioned to the door.
“Marquette’s on his way up,” explained Knight. “I was about to tell him to wait in the hobby, when he said he would come here. He broke off before I could stop him.”
“I’ll scram,” acknowledged Cady. “Slip me the note, quick.”