The Sixth member of the group arrived while Paget was still thinking of the situation. Number Seven made his appearance a few minutes later. The members of the group went through their ceremony. Then came the period of silence.
“TONIGHT,” said the leader, “we are confronted by an important matter. The plan proposed by Number Five has been temporarily thwarted. We have been attacked by an enemy who calls himself The Shadow.
“The existence of this enemy was revealed to me by Number Five. Through the Faithful Fifty, we captured a man whom we suspected. He would not reveal his identity. I have given him his choice. He must speak or die. His opportunity is nearly ended.
“Now I believe that our enemy — The Shadow — is still at large. Our captive is probably his agent. We must use every power that we possess to eliminate our enemy. What is your expression?”
“Death to The Shadow!”
The words came from one of the hooded figures.
“Death! Death!” echoed the others. Paget joined the chorus.
“Death to The Shadow,” said the leader calmly.
Before he could speak again, the members of the group became suddenly rigid as they heard a startling sound.
From the door opposite the leader came seven taps.
An eighth man was seeking admittance to the sanctum of the Silent Seven!
There was a pause. Paget wondered what the leader would do. He could not imagine whom the intruder might be.
“Some one desires admittance,” declared the leader, in a calm, solemn voice. “Before we reply to his request, let us identify ourselves. I am Number One—”
“Two.” A robed figure called the number and stepped across the room beside the leader.
“Three.” Another man took his place in line.
“Four.” As the speaker moved to the front of the room, Paget awaited the proper instant to give his number. As he was about to speak, the man beside him stepped to the center of the room and said “Five.”
Paget was too astounded to move. He could not understand the man’s purpose. Five was his number — not that of the one who had spoken. Some mistake had been made; it would not be wise to protest at this critical moment.
“Six.” Paget heard the word, as another robed man called the number. He was now alone, standing before the line of silent men. His mind was in a state of utter confusion. He looked at his cowled companions. Every hood seemed turned so that invisible eyes were peering at him.
“Your number?”
The question was addressed to Paget by the leader. Now was no time to hesitate.
“Seven,” said Paget, taking his place in line.
The leader walked to the door. There he turned and faced the solemn line.
“Keep your places,” he said. “An impostor is present — either here or in the outer room. Let us learn the number that he gives.”
The leader tapped seven times upon the door. There were seven taps in return. A terrible realization came over Rodney Paget.
The real Number Seven was outside the room! The impostor was the man who had already entered as Number Seven!
WHEN the leader had called for numbers, the false member of the group had declared himself as five.
By not protesting, Paget had been forced to declared himself as Seven. Now suspicion would be directed upon him!
He clenched his hands beneath the folds of the robe and felt the scarab ring. It reassured him. At least he had the mystic token that had served him before.
The man outside had been admitted. His responses met with the approval of the leader. Now the master of the group returned and singled out Paget, at the end of the line.
“Go with him!” ordered the leader.
Paget obeyed. He joined the newcomer.
“Your rings,” demanded the leader.
Each member, beginning with Two, removed his scarab ring and passed it for the leader’s inspection.
Number One came to Paget and the man who had just entered. He examined their rings. Suddenly he pointed to Paget.
“Seize him!” he cried.
Paget was overpowered before he could resist. His arms were bound, and he was forced to a sitting position in the center of the room. The members of the group moved to the walls. The leader stood at the head.
“Before we reveal the prisoner’s identity,” he said, “we will ascertain if any member of the Seven has an accusation against this unknown man.”
A figure stepped from the group and took his position at the door. He made the sign of the Seven. The leader responded.
“Number Five,” came the declaration.
Paget was amazed. It was the impostor who was about to accuse him! The man who had declared himself as Number Five pointed an accusing finger toward Paget!
“How did you discover him?” he questioned.
“By his ring,” replied the leader. “Each ring has a secret mark. I alone can identify each one by number.
The only false ring is the one worn by our prisoner.”
“I shall tell you how he obtained it,” said the accuser. The other members of the group listened intently.
“One of the Seven was murdered.” The weirdness of his tone made Paget shudder. “Murdered— by this prisoner.”
“Why?” demanded the leader.
“This impostor desired to learn the secrets of the Seven,” came the reply.
“The secrets are not written,” declared the leader. “They are engraved only in the minds of our members.”
The accuser ignored the objection.
“Originally,” he went on, “the Silent Seven did not deal in open crime. But in recent years it has become a desperate organization that will stop at nothing.
“One of our group — an old man — abhorred our actions. He wanted to expose the Seven, but he hesitated through fear. He did, however, write a full confession in which he revealed the secrets of this group.
“He placed the confession in a secret drawer of his desk. He placed his scarab ring in the hands of a friend. He guarded that confession and hoped some day to make it public.
“A young man whom he had benefited, once saw him closing the secret drawer. The young man entered the house and stole the confession. He learned the secrets of the Seven.
“He came again and laid a trap to kill the old man. He succeeded. He also murdered the friend who wore the scarab ring. Then he joined the Seven as an impostor.”
“If what you say is true—” began the leader.
“It is true,” declared the man at the door. “I knew certain facts. I have discovered others. My case is complete. The thief did not destroy the confession. He kept it hidden that he might betray the Seven, if he needed to protect himself.”
“Who is the man?”
The accuser pointed to Paget.
“Tell me, then,” said the leader, “since this man possessed the secrets and the genuine ring, how did we discover him tonight?”
“Because another man intervened. He took the ring from the thief, but did not keep it at the time. He had a ring made to resemble it. He took the genuine ring and left the other in its place.” The truth dawned upon Paget. He knew who was masked as Number Five. The Shadow!
That was why his room had been visited at Blake’s home, on different nights. He understood the purpose of the silent figure on the lawn. He wanted to cry out his thoughts, but he was too alarmed to speak.
“Tell me,” came the voice of the leader, “who was our member who was murdered? Since he is dead, he cannot be among us.”
There was a threatening significance in his tone. Yet it did not phase the man who stood by the door.
“His name,” said Paget’s accuser, “was Henry Marchand.”
“And his number—”
“Five.”
“Then you are the man who took the ring from the thief,” came the menacing voice of Number One. “You are not Number Five—” He stepped toward the speaker, and the members of the group began to move with him. “You are—”