Moe's cab was waiting in the next street; from then on, it became the medium whereby The Shadow kept close to Dwig and his crew without being discovered.
The fact that his cruising bruisers had not returned was proof sufficient to Dwig that the way was clear.
He'd told them to go their way, and it didn't occur to him that The Shadow might have put them out of the picture by virtue of a surprise attack. Hence, Dwig was going his own way also and providing The Shadow with a very easy trail.
Where that trail would lead was no mystery to The Shadow.
Analyzing the matter of the stolen message more deeply than Margo had, The Shadow reduced it to but one solution. Mobsters had been forced to remove the link to a fifth murder because, somehow, that particular crime had fallen through. If the police had found the name on the memo pad beneath Raft's elbow, they might have been able to forestall a coming crime.
That, in itself, was an important point.
The very oddity of the four deaths - all by poison, and striking almost at an appointed hour - indicated definitely that they were prearranged. Therefore, Dwig had probably supposed that the fifth man was dead, too, until some last-minute information had indicated otherwise. Naturally, since a murder scheme had slipped, Dwig, at present, was out to amend it.
Dwig and his mob were actually leading The Shadow to the fifth victim before death was delivered.
Somewhere along this trail, The Shadow would have to pass the killers and be the first to reach the helpless man they sought!
THE trail narrowed suddenly, as the car ahead stopped near an elevated railway station. Moe parked on the other side of the avenue and The Shadow glided from the cab, prepared to follow an elusive course beneath the el pillars, in case Dwig tried a sudden move.
Crooks were watching the steps that came down from the elevated station; it might be that they intended to waylay their quarry when he descended from the platform.
A man appeared from that direction. He was well-dressed, fairly tall, and with an intelligent square-jawed face. His lined features marked him past middle age, but his gait was agile. His expression was a troubled one - that of a man who was bound upon an unpleasant duty; but The Shadow noticed no trace of fear.
Reaching shelter beside the el steps, The Shadow pointed an automatic for the window of the sedan in which Dwig and the other thugs were seated.
The mere glint of a revolver barrel would have meant a bullet for the man who showed the gun; but no one in the car tempted The Shadow's aim. Dwig and his watchers let the square-jawed man go past them, but when he had walked a half block, their car moved slowly in the same direction.
It appeared that they preferred to trail their prospective victim to some place where they could kill him with less notice.
Back in Moe's cab, The Shadow had his driver proceed along the same trail. Lights extinguished, the cab sneaked neatly up behind the sedan. The other car stopped; Moe did the same.
The walking man had stopped at a dingy brick house. Abruptly, he went up the steps and into the place.
Dwig's car started away, but The Shadow told Moe to wait. He foresaw what the crooks intended. They were going around to the back, to find another way into the house.
Inadvertently, they were giving The Shadow the very chance he wanted. By using the front door, The Shadow could overtake the victim first.
Swiftly, The Shadow left the cab; fleetingly, Moe saw him on the house steps. Then, entering a gloomy hall, The Shadow heard creaks from the floor above and went directly for a flight of stairs.
By the time he had reached the second floor, the man ahead was on the third. As The Shadow neared the top of the next flight, he saw his man stop at a door.
After a few sharp knocks, the man spoke a name:
"Glevin!"
There was no answer. The man rapped again, spoke louder. His tone had an accusing note.
"Glevin!" he repeated. "This is Mr. Talney. Louis Talney. I want to speak to you!"
There was no response. For the first time, Talney exhibited actual hostility. Clamping his left hand firmly on the doorknob, he prepared to drive his shoulder forward, while his right hand drew a small, stubby revolver.
"I'm coming in, Glevin!"
Turning the knob, Talney jabbed his shoulder hard. Whether he expected to crack the rather flimsy door, or merely alarm Glevin, was difficult to tell. In fact, The Shadow did not have time - or need - to decide the question. The door was unlocked, something that Talney had not suspected. Swinging inward, the door carried the tall man on a long lunge.
Talney must have caught himself as he gasped. But it wasn't his near sprawl that brought the odd sound from his lips. The word that Talney gasped was proof of some different sort of shock. The word was a name:
"Glevin!"
FROM the doorway, The Shadow viewed the sight that had so horrified Talney. Small wonder that the tall man was aghast, for it was his first view of the sort of death that The Shadow, as Cranston, had seen on display four times upon this very evening.
Upon a cot that stood beyond a strip of frayed green carpet lay a dead man who stared straight toward the ceiling - a corpse with staring, glassy eyes and bloated features that bore only a grotesque resemblance to anything human. Yet Talney had managed to recognize the face as Glevin's, which proved he must have known the man well.
Standing beside the cot, Talney reached gingerly and lifted Glevin's left hand. From it, he removed a finger ring, which he held toward the gaslight. The ring had a roundish stone, as colorless as a chunk of glass. Stunned by the tragedy of Glevin's death, Talney spoke half aloud:
"I trusted you, Glevin, as a faithful servant. Yet you stole... a worthless ring."
Had The Shadow been acquainted with plans of Armand Lenfell, he would have known that Louis Talney was the fifth member of the secret six; also, that Glevin was the servant who had come in Talney's stead to receive a sapphire ring from Lenfell.
Jorton, Bayle, Halden, Raft - they were the four hooded men who had received rings. Talney was the fifth. Yet none of those rings bore the blue hue of a sapphire, whether real or imitation; nor did any show the peculiar star formation that should have been their characteristic!
Talney's bewilderment proved The Shadow's present theory: that all five of the worthless rings had once been valued as precious. So stupefied was Talney, that The Shadow ended his immobile vigil and moved into the room, approaching the dumfounded man beside the cot.
Once in motion, The Shadow ran the risk of detection; but it seemed slight, considering that Talney was still staring at the ring.
It was the flickering gaslight that betrayed The Shadow. Fanned by a breeze that came through the open window, the flame stretched and wavered, lengthening the streak of approaching blackness that preceded The Shadow.
Staring past the ring, Talney saw the weird, hawkish silhouette that was cast upon the cot where Glevin lay.
Roused from his stupor, Louis Talney uttered a savage cry. Wheeling, he aimed his stubby revolver point-blank for the cloaked figure that was swooping in from the door, and fired!
CHAPTER XIII. DINNER AT NINE
The Shadow's swoop had become a dive when Talney opened fire. The first shot, therefore, whizzed a full foot above The Shadows slouch hat; but Talney wasn't deceived.
Knowing that he had missed, he shoved his gun downward, intending to score at least one hit upon the unknown invader, who, in Talney's opinion, must be a foe. Talney's second aim was good, but he didn't pull the gun trigger.
The Shadow's dive was toward the stretch of carpet on which Talney stood. Grabbing the green weave, The Shadow gave a hard yank. Talney somersaulted as the carpet went beneath him, his gun flying to the ceiling. The Shadow was on his feet, picking up the revolver, by the time Talney struck the floor.