Clipper closed the door through which they had come. He hesitated a moment, undecided which door to open next. He shrugged his shoulders.
Evidently either one would do. Bodine could be in only one room. If they saw no one in the first, they could try the second.
“Ready,” whispered Clipper. “I’m goin’ in; you stick here to cover.”
It was quite dark in the little hallway, the only light coming from a transom that let dull rays flicker in from the corridor outside. Still, the light was sufficient to show the automatic which Clipper had unlimbered.
Cliff had his own pistol in his hand. His brain was working fast, but his nerves were steady.
Nevertheless, Cliff Marsland was tense as Clipper placed his left hand upon the knob of the door at the right. What would that opened door reveal?
Cliff knew that he was on the verge of an exciting adventure. Until now he felt that he was playing a passive part. But somehow he had a hunch that he now had work to do.
His instructions were based upon a very simple formula. Unknown to Clipper Tobin, Cliff was working with The Shadow. It was The Shadow’s purpose to frustrate the crime that brewed tonight — not because The Shadow had anything in common with Arnold Bodine, but because the killing foretold by Double Z must be frustrated.
Cliff was simply The Shadow’s informant. The course of events had decreed that he must accompany Clipper Tobin on this expedition, but with The Shadow now here, there was no need for Cliff to act.
Whatever The Shadow might do, Cliff’s status would remain the same. He, like Cliff, would appear as an intercepted killer.