The Shadow inscribed the translation of this condensed report, which conformed with a code given Vincent.
"Shark" meant Sharrock. "Nice" referred to the Mediterranean resort. "Paris" showed where Sharrock had gone. "Tally" was an abbreviation for steamship 'Talleyrand'. The Shadow wrote:
Located Sharrock at Nice. He left for Paris. Sailed on the Steamship 'Talleyrand'.
Evidently Vincent had lost the trail at Nice. Sharrock, travelling to Paris had continued from there to Cherbourg, to catch the steamer for America. The Shadow's hands were still, indicating that he was pondering over the message that lay before him.
Then the fingers found another item supplied by Rutledge Mann. It was the sailing schedule of The Franco Line. The 'Talleyrand' had left Cherbourg that day. It would not arrive in New York for a week. There was significance in the return of this man Sharrock. Savette had boasted that he and Tremont had driven him away. Why was he coming back? What would be the outcome when the plotters learned of his return?
Sharrock, stepbrother of Austin Bellamy, might prove a key to the situation that existed in Glendale. His return was evidently unknown to Savette. Would it aid or disturb The Shadow's plans?
Once again, The Shadow's prophetic list appeared. That piece of paper gave its column of words: Money — Television — Atomic Energy — Aeronautics — Money. The first four titles had the names of men attached. At the bottom of the column stood the single word: Money.
The list began with money; it ended with money. Whatever the purpose of the three statements in between, money was the dominating motive. Money was Doctor Savette's aim now. The hand of The Shadow paused beside that all-important word at the bottom of the list. It waited, lingering. Then came a laugh from the blackness of the room. It was a strange, sardonic laugh — a token of mirth that presaged the downfall of evildoers.
The hand wrote. Another name was inscribed to the list. For a brief instant the name stood plain, while the girasol on The Shadow's left hand threw forth its lustrous shafts of mystic light. Then all was darkness as the shaded lamp clicked off. From the stillness of a solid, tomblike room, The Shadow's sinister laugh flung a grim and muffled taunt.
Out of the dark, The Shadow had come tonight. Into the dark he had returned. Checked in his first attack, driven to bay by gangster hordes, The Shadow had fought against tremendous odds. His presence had been revealed. His stalwart hand was thwarted for the moment. But with uncanny cleverness, The Shadow had retired further from the light. His enemies believed he was defeated. They were almost convinced that he was dead. The one advantage he had gained tonight was obscurity.