He heard the sound of footsteps echoing beneath. They did not follow to the spot where Clipper had fallen. They were pounding toward the fire tower.
Swiftly, The Shadow whirled across the room and locked the door of the little hallway. The action was none too soon. Already men were entering the outside corridor. Joe Cardona’s squad, dispatched to prevent the murder of Arnold Bodine, was already at the doorway of the apartment!
The strong door, which Bodine had purposely placed at the entrance, withstood the pounding of the detectives’ shoulders. The gruff voice of Joe Cardona was shouting in the corridor.
Muffled commands could be heard. Cardona was planning to prevent the escape of the man who had closed that door. In the meantime, The Shadow, a strange form in black, was quietly bending over Cliff Marsland, reviving the unconscious man.
Cliff opened his eyes. The Shadow stepped away. Although his head throbbed, Cliff’s confusion cleared away rapidly.
He did not know who had struck him down. He did know that The Shadow had come to his rescue. Too late to save Arnold Bodine, however. The body of the big shot lay but a few feet away.
There was a lull outside. The attackers were waiting to hear if any sound came from within. A voice called up from the alleyway below.
“We’re down here, Cardona! There’s a dead man here!”
The silence indicated to the crier that Cardona had not yet forced his way into Bodine’s apartment. The beam of a powerful flashlight shone outside the window. The men who had found the body were centering its glare upon the roof of the garage. That means of escape was cut off. Police would soon be there.
THE words from the alley echoed in Cliff’s mind. He realized instantly that the dead man must be Clipper. He wondered what The Shadow intended to do. He saw the black-clad form studying the body of Bodine. Was The Shadow about to don a disguise — to deceive Cardona and his men into thinking that he was Arnold Bodine?