“Death!” remarked Thade, in a hissing tone. “That is the reward to all — except to you, Roderick. You, alone, shall share a portion of the vast wealth which I shall accumulate. That is because you are the one who aids me in my plans.”
“We have failed for the present,” declared Roderick solemnly.
“Failed?” Thade’s question was one of hollow sarcasm. “Thade rules by death, and death has been dealt.”
“Yes,” admitted Roderick, “the killings at Felswood were perfect. The police were there for the third one, but they saw nothing. Yet Henry Bellew did not heed the threat. We have lost the million that we could have gained from him.”
“Bah!” Thade’s voice was scornful. “He was but one of many. I prepared for him to act as he did. My next subject will heed the warning. With Bellew’s death as an added threat, he will be afraid to speak. I hold him as surely as I held Bellew. Death can strike him in a moment.”
Roderick nodded in agreement; then his face clouded with momentary doubt. Thade detected the expression and scowled. Roderick hastened to explain his thought.
“Barcomb and Quinley,” he remarked. “We thought that they were safe. But events proved otherwise. Both were killed last night. Each must have been trapped—”
“By the police?”
“No. I have read the newspapers carefully. The police know nothing. But some one knows. Barcomb was found dead in Bellew’s study. Poisoned by an injection.”
“The watch I gave him.”
“Yes. It must have been that. He thought it was a weapon he could use in an emergency. Therefore, he must have faced a crisis. Some one confronted him and demanded the truth.”
“He did not know this place of my abode.”
“No. But he could have spoken the name of Thade before he died. He might have mentioned me. I brought him here, as I brought Treffin to-night.”
“Perhaps his nerve failed him—”
“No,” said Roderick emphatically, “Barcomb was in danger. Quinley’s death was proof of that. Quinley was a coward. He welshed from the time I first confronted him with what I knew about his fake real-estate dealings. He was yellow when he came here.
“Last night, I followed your instructions to the letter. I phoned Quinley and told him to get rid of the apparatus. He must have gone to the garage immediately after that. He turned the key and blew the whole works. He would have done so only if discovered by some dangerous intruder. He thought — like Barcomb — that the device was for his own protection.”
“It was for the protection of Thade,” sneered The Death Giver.
Once again, Paul Roderick nodded. His face, however, retained its look of perplexity.
“We are up against some one,” he declared. “Some one who knows much. Some one who knows more than the police. Some one who is keeping his knowledge to himself. It may be—”
“Who?” questioned Thade, as Roderick paused.
“The Shadow,” asserted Roderick. “You have heard of him.”
“THE SHADOW!” Thade’s tone was scornful. “I do not fear The Shadow! He is a man who fights with petty crooks. What if he did discover Barcomb and Quinley? He can not cope with Thade!
“One year ago” — Thade paused reflectively — “there was a poor inventor. A deluded man, who discovered marvels with poisons and with deadly gases. A man who understood explosives. He had hopes of doing great things for the government. He was told, in Washington, that his experiments were not of interest.
“That man died, Roderick. Died in heart, though not in body. His life work had been ridiculed. His spirit departed. Yet he lived, as a new being. He became Thade, a man who knew no country. Thade, The Death Giver!
“I, Thade, shall use my great knowledge to gain wealth. I have done so in a trivial way. This hidden refuge has been built by death. Now, I shall gather millions! You, Paul Roderick, are my aid. You have found men of wealth whom I can threaten. You have brought in dupes whose trivial secrets you have learned — men whom I can twist and mold until they are afraid to do other than my will.
“I, Thade, fear no one! I give death to those who would thwart me. I sent death to three unknowns that I might terrorize Henry Bellew. He failed to heed the warnings that I sent through you. He died. Barcomb’s work was ended; it is well that he is dead. Quinley had served his purpose. It is well that he died also.
“The campaign against Henry Bellew was scarcely more than an experiment. The next will be Irwin Langhorne. He is richer than Bellew was. The warning will be greater. Mysterious death will strike more rapidly.
“You have brought me Treffin, to act as Quinley acted. Jarvis is ready to act as Barcomb did. The messages must go to-night. Thade, The Death Giver, has spoken! Thade fears no one. The Shadow! Bah!”
The Death Giver clapped his hands. Bowing, Paul Roderick withdrew.
One of the Nubians entered from the anteroom. Thade spoke in the foreign tongue. The man went back; a moment later, he and his fellow-servant returned supporting Harlan Treffin between them. Thade’s new vassal was as pallid as before. The conversation between The Death Giver and Paul Roderick had barely given Treffin time to recuperate.
Thade raised his hand and beckoned. The Nubian stepped aside, and Treffin advanced unsteadily until he stopped before The Death Giver’s dais.
His eyes stared like bulging bulbs toward the green-hued face of Thade. That ghoulish visage was terrifying; and Treffin drew back as the scrawny hands reached forward, bearing a square box. The lid opened, to show three transparent tubes of a substance that resembled glass. A gummy streak lined the upper surface of each tube.
The voice of Thade droned in steady words. Harlan Treffin was receiving his instructions. The man slowly nodded his understanding. The lid of the box closed. Thade thrust the container into Treffin’s listless hands.
“Roderick will take you to your house,” continued Thade, after he had completed his orders. “There, he will leave you the schedule upon which you will work. Be precise in your actions. The time is tomorrow. After that—”
One of the Nubians approached carrying a cylindrical container. Thade raised the cover, and drew out a table lamp that resembled an artillery shell, standing point upward.
“This,” declared The Death Giver, “is your protection. While it rests upon the table in your little room, you will be safe from all intrusion. The lamp will not light; it has no connection. The switch up here is useless. But in the base—”
Thade’s finger touched an ornamental spot in the rounded bottom of the lamp. The finger did not press. It merely indicated; then drew away.
“Should an enemy confront you,” said The Death Giver, “you can thwart him by pressing this concealed button. Use the device only in case of extreme emergency. It will demonstrate the power of Thade. Your foe will learn the suddenness of death. You understand?”
Treffin nodded.
“Turn around.”
Treffin obeyed the command. Staring downward, he saw the floor opening to display that gruesome figure of a dying victim. A scream came from Treffin; his body swayed at this repetition of the sight he had seen before.
The floor was closing. Thade’s voice was speaking, and Treffin, although dazed, managed to nod his complete understanding of The Death Giver’s words.
“You will obey my word,” commanded Thade. “You will not betray me. You will act as I have ordered should danger come to you. Otherwise, the fate that you have seen will be your destiny!”
THE turbaned servants were supporting Treffin. Paul Roderick was there, holding the box of pills. He offered two of the brown tablets to Harlan Treffin, who managed to hold them between his fingers and gulp them hastily.