Tex smiled as he sat down in a comfortable chair. He had been in this suite of rooms before. There were three altogether; the waiting room, the office, and a small laboratory beyond. All lay alongside the hall. It was probable that Harlow was in one of the inner rooms. So Tex conjectured, while he waited.
Tex had entered here quite boldly. He had paid no attention to matters outside. Hence he had failed to see a man who was loitering across the street— a stocky individual who had been watching the entrance to Doctor Harlow’s office.
THE watcher was Detective Joe Cardona. The sleuth, too far away to see Tex’s face closely, had, none the less, decided that this visitor could better be observed at close range. Hence, while Tex Lowner sat in Harlow’s waiting room, Joe Cardona walked rapidly along Park Avenue, crossed the street at a corner, and doubled back on the same side as Harlow’s office.
Cardona, the observer, was, in turn, observed. The detective, when he moved from his position in the opposite doorway, did not realize that a new pair of eyes had spotted him. A tall figure, blending with the darkened front of buildings as it came along the street, paused suddenly to take notice of Cardona’s action.
While the detective was performing the maneuvers at the corner, that gliding shape went swiftly to the door which Tex Lowner had entered. The barrier opened. Into the light of the hallway stepped a silent, spectral form: The Shadow.
The black-garbed visitant did not heed the door which Tex had entered. Instead, he moved swiftly along the hall until he reached the third door on the left. The barrier was locked, as The Shadow learned when he turned the knob.
A small, blackened instrument of steel appeared between gloved fingers. Softly, The Shadow probed the lock. An almost inaudible click announced success. The Shadow opened the door and edged easily into the gloom of Doctor Harlow’s laboratory.
Half a minute later, Joe Cardona appeared at the outside entrance of the building. The detective peered through the glass-paneled door into the hallway. He did not enter. Instead, he strolled off and loitered near the entrance of the building.
Tex Lowner, patiently waiting in Harlow’s anteroom, looked up as the door of the office opened. He grinned as he saw the sallow, mustached face of Doctor Wesley Harlow. For a moment, the physician stared; his twitching lips showed his nervousness. Then, with a short gesture, he motioned to Tex to come into the office.
Harlow closed and locked the door behind him as soon as Tex had entered. He tried the door to the laboratory; found it also locked. He waved Tex to a seat.
He stared coldly at the gang leader, and Tex grinned as he returned the gaze. Neither man heard the tiny click that came from the laboratory door. Neither saw the imperceptible motion of the barrier.
Both Tex and Harlow thought that they were alone. In that firm assumption, they were wrong. Peering through a tiny crevice, listening with keen, attentive ears, The Shadow was a silent participant in this meeting.
“WELL?” Tex gave the question with a muttered laugh. “How about the dough? Have you got it?”
“No,” returned Harlow shortly.
“Things flopped the other night, eh?” sneered Tex.
“I didn’t have a chance to work it,” admitted Harlow. “Matters didn’t turn out the way I expected.”
“So I learned,” remarked Tex cagily. “Pug Hoffler wasn’t such a hot shot, after all, was he?”
Doctor Harlow eyed the gang leader firmly. Tex continued to grin. “Listen, Harlow,” he declared. “I’m not finding any fault. You know the proposition I put to you. One hundred grand is what I want — and you’ve promised to get it — from Satruff.”
“If I can get it.”
“No ‘ifs’ about it. He’s got that much dough there all the time. I told you that I’d be ready to pile in there and help you, but you said to leave it up to you.”
“I said I would try to get it in my own way.”
“Right. That’s why I’m making no squawk. It was up to you. When I left town, you said you’d try to have the cash by the time I got back. I told you that you’d have to have it — or I’d spill all I knew.”
Harlow chewed his lips nervously. He decided to make no comment, even though his expression showed that he was highly perturbed.
“I hadn’t figured,” continued Tex, in a casual tone, “that you might team up with Pug Hoffler. I was sore when I read about what had happened; then I saw that you had probably doped out that I was right — the best way to grab that Dorand coin was to raid the place. You had to have the cash when I got back. Well — I don’t blame you for fixing it with Pug. He was a good guy to go after it, even though he flivved.”
“I had nothing to do with Pug,” declared Harlow, emphatically. “Take that or leave it. Hold whatever opinion you want. After all, it doesn’t make any difference.”
“None at all,” smiled Tex, his lips twisting in a peculiar fashion. “It only shows that you were pretty smart, Harlow. You did a good job, plugging Pug. He’s better dead, the double-crosser.
“Listen, Harlow.” The gang leader arose as he spoke. “What I want is the dough I sent you after. To-night is your big chance. I’m back in town — I want the kale. You’re going out to Satruff’s.”
“Yes.”
“To get the money.”
“Yes. In my own way.”
“O.K., Harlow. Make it an inside job if you want. But if you flop, there’ll be no excuse, because I’m ready to help you out if you give the word.”
“You mean—”
“You know all you’ve got to do. If you can’t pick up the cash yourself, pass out the distress signal. That’ll mean the strong-arm stuff, and I’m telling you, Harlow, that it won’t be another bum job like the one Pug Hoffler tried to pull.”
Harlow glanced at his watch. He replaced the timepiece in his pocket.
“I’m going out to see Folsom Satruff,” he declared, in a determined voice. “I’ll get the money. I’ll hold it until you call for it. Leave that to me, Lowner.”
“All right. But remember — I won’t take any excuse. I gave you time to work on your own. You gummed the works. I’m seeing to it that you’ll have help if you want it.”
“I won’t need it.”
Tex laughed as he unlocked the door. There was a meanness in his mirth that Wesley Harlow did not relish.
“I’ll leave it to you, Harlow,” he declared. “You’ve got brains; and I figure you know the game. Work it any way you want. You used Pug and you flopped. Maybe you’re figuring on using some one else. That’s O.K. with me. I’ll stay away from Satruff’s. I don’t care how you get the dough or who may be in with you on the deal. Just so I get a hundred grand out of your cut — that’s all I want.
“You plugged Pug Hoffler. That was good work. He was one bird who could have told what I know — and there may be others. You’re a fox, Harlow. Pug knew who Lefty Yates is — he knew of Lefty’s hook-up with you. It was a smart trick on your part, getting Pug to play along with you because of Lefty’s rep.
“Keep at it. Use anybody you want — anybody who knows the truth about Lefty. These fellows like Pug Hoffler are dumb; you have brains enough to handle them. You tried to kid me a bit when I talked to you about Lefty Yates and how I could get you in wrong by steering the bulls on him.
“But I was too wise. I made you listen to my terms. I knew you wanted to keep Lefty out of stir. I gave you my price — one hundred grand — and you agreed to it. I want results. You’re coming through with that dough, or I’m going to spill the works on Lefty — and when that comes out, you’ll be completely ruined.”