Clipper had discharged the cab sufficiently far from the apartment house where Arnold Bodine lived to ward off possible suspicion of the driver.
Now, ahead of the two men, showed the lighted windows of the building for which they were bound.
“You can’t see Bodine’s apartment from here,” whispered Clipper in the darkness. “The garage runs right up against the apartment house. Bodine’s apartment is one story above the top of the garage — on the fourth floor.”
Cliff understood this as they turned a corner of the alley. The old garage building fronted on the next avenue. So did the apartment house. The garage had an L-shaped front, the projection being an extension which abutted against the lower stories of the apartment building.
The alley ran down to this, ending in a cul-de-sac. Clipper stopped at the beginning of the short blind alley. They had reached the entrance to the fire tower.
Clipper pointed almost straight upward, toward the front of the apartment. He designated lighted windows on the fourth floor.
“See?” came his whisper. “That’s the place. Take it easy until we get into the fire tower. There ain’t nobody around here, but we gotta play it safe. This is our way out — don’t forget that!”
Cliff gazed into the black space that ended with the garage wall and realized that there could be no escape by that direction. The path which they had followed was their one means of leaving. He smiled grimly to himself. Clipper Tobin expected an easy escape. He did not know what he was about to encounter.
For Cliff was positive that by this time The Shadow had arrived. It was nearly twenty minutes since they had left the Club DeLuxe. Burke had received the all-important information. He had surely relayed it to The Shadow promptly. The Hotel Goliath was only eight blocks away. Perhaps The Shadow had entered the apartment house by this very method — the fire tower! Perhaps he had come by the front way! At any rate, Cliff was confident that the mysterious man in black would be on hand with one of his amazing surprises.
A few minutes’ stall would not hurt. Cliff nudged Clipper and whispered in his ear.