His course unchallenged in its devious turns, The Shadow came at length to a brass door. He pressed a hidden spring. The barrier slid upward. The Shadow stepped into a square room, where mellow light revealed paneled walls. The door slid downward into place.
SEATED in the square room was a Chinaman, whose black eyes gazed with cold placidity from his yellowed face. The Chinaman was clad in robes of deep maroon, these garments emblazoned with frosted dragons of a dull-gold hue.
This worthy was Yat Soon, the arbiter of Chinatown, the man whose word was law among the secret tongs. This paneled room was Yat Soon’s reception chamber.
Usually visitors to this place found the room devoid of furniture. It was Yat Soon’s custom to stand while holding an interview. Tonight, however, the arbiter was seated; before him was a taboret; beyond it a second chair that matched the one in which Yat Soon was seated.
As Yat Soon saw his cloaked visitor, he arose and bowed. The Shadow approached the second chair.
He and the Chinaman seated themselves. It was plain that Yat Soon had expected his weird guest, and had made preparation for conference.
The Shadow spoke. His words were in the Chinese tongue; they gave a strange impressiveness to the singsong inflection of that Oriental speech.
Yat Soon bowed in acknowledgment, then made reply. In deference to his visitor, the arbiter spoke in English. It was a strange conversation, each participant showing perfect knowledge of the other’s language.
“As Yat Soon spoke before,” declared the Chinaman, in solemn tone, “so does Yat Soon still speak. The merchant Leng Doy has hidden himself well. Naught has been learned of the place where he abides.”
The Shadow spoke again in Chinese. Yat Soon nodded solemnly; then replied.
“The room within the Wuhu Cafe,” he declared, “was long ago the private meeting place of Leng Doy. It was chosen by Leng Doy and other merchants that they might plan and protect themselves should the tongs threaten them.”
Yat Soon’s eyes were steady as he paused. The Shadow gave no response; the arbiter spoke carefully.
“It was unwise for one to go into that meeting place,” he declared. “The men who served Leng Doy were guilty of no wrong when they gave fight. They knew nothing of their master’s purpose. It was their duty to protect and to obey Leng Doy.
“There was cause for you to go there; but none for you to bring quarrel with the faithful servants of Leng Doy. Your deed, therefore, was the part of wisdom. You went from the meeting place of Leng Doy. You brought harm to none.
“Yat Soon has spoken with those servants of Leng Doy. They are men whose ways are innocent of crime. To them was entrusted only the keeping of that place. They know not where Leng Doy has departed.”
YAT SOON reached beneath his darkened robe and produced a slender scroll. He passed the coiled cylinder to The Shadow, who unrolled it with his gloved fingers. The parchment was inscribed with Chinese characters. The Shadow read the statement with steady, gleaming eyes.
“Your part was that of wisdom,” repeated Yat Soon, while The Shadow read the Chinese scroll. “That is why I, Yat Soon, have sought and gained the facts which you now read. The parchment tells all that has yet been learned of Leng Doy.
“It is true that he has other places wherein he may hide. It is true that none can tell where those places may be. It is true that he has other servants, whose names even I, Yat Soon, have not yet learned.”
Yat Soon paused. The Shadow concluded his reading of the report and passed the scroll to the Chinaman. The parchment coiled as it changed hands; Yat Soon thrust it beneath his robe. The Shadow spoke a query in Chinese. Yat Soon bowed; then gave reply.
“Of the American,” stated the arbiter, “the man who bears the name of David Callard, I can tell naught. As yet it is unknown concerning him. I, Yat Soon, must learn the names of those in China whose purposes he served. Then shall it be known whether they were seeking good or evil.
“As you have read, Leng Doy, the merchant, was known to men in Canton. It must be that the name of Leng Doy was given to the American by those men in China. Leng Doy is of no tong; that is why I, Yat Soon, have not learned who were once his friends.”
The Shadow spoke in Chinese; his discourse was prolonged. It brought solemn blinks from Yat Soon.
When The Shadow had finished, the arbiter raised both hands to the level of his robed shoulders and stretched his thumbs and fingers against the background of maroon.
“Within the span of ten days,” pronounced the steady eyed Celestial, “I, Yat Soon, shall learn wherever Leng Doy may be. With Leng Doy will be found the American whom you seek. Both shall be brought to this place, that you may speak with them in the presence of Yat Soon.”
Yat Soon arose and bowed. The Shadow followed suit; he turned toward the wall as Yat Soon waved a long-fingered hand. A solid panel slid upward. The Shadow stepped through the opening. The panel descended; The Shadow was outside another brass-fronted door.
Following a new course of passages, The Shadow reached the shop that he had originally entered. He encountered no watchers on the way. Yat Soon had apparently arranged that his visitor’s route be unmolested.
Gaining the street, The Shadow faded into blackness. His course became untraceable. The next sign of his presence occurred later, when a blue light clicked in the depths of a darkened room.
THE SHADOW was in his sanctum, an abode even more mysterious than the reception room of Yat Soon. The Shadow’s visit to the arbiter had been negative; yet from it he had gained facts that were to have important bearing on his coming plan.
The Shadow’s whispered laugh sounded in the sanctum. His right hand, ungloved, was inscribing written statements upon a sheet of paper beneath the blue-rayed light.
He was putting down points of testimony that he had heard at the scene of crime tonight, adding facts to some of those that he had discussed with Commissioner Weston.
Dolver’s testimony…
Masked intruder…
Dolver hurled against the open door…
Five shots to kill Shurrick…
Heard plainly by Lattan…
Dolver bound and gagged…
Missing locket…
Further crime…
The Shadow paused. He had reached a point of speculation, with those words “further crime.” To The Shadow, it was evident that Ralgood and Shurrick had been slain because of knowledge that they possessed concerning their deceased friend, Milton Callard. The old millionaire had known others. More men might plausibly be in danger. The Shadow wrote again:
Discovery of other possible victims…
Diverting of murderer’s present intention…
Observation at focal point…
Forced revelation…
These showed The Shadow’s purpose. First, to find other persons who had known old Milton Callard, something that the police had shown no speed in doing.
Next, to slow the approach of intended crime by some device that would divert the murderer for the present. Again, to watch some spot that forced conditions would render temporarily important. Finally, to make the killer reveal himself in the presence of the law.
The Shadow’s writing faded; such was the way with the ink he used in notations of this type. The Shadow reached across the table surface beneath the blue light. He brought earphones from the wall beyond. A tiny bulb glimmered; a voice came across the wire:
“Burbank speaking.”
“Report,” ordered The Shadow.
“Report from Burke,” stated Burbank in level tones. “Interview with Cardona—”
Burbank’s voice kept on. It gave details that The Shadow had already learned. Cardona had given Clyde an excellent story; the reporter stood well at headquarters because of his aid in gaining Mallikan’s testimony about Dave Callard.