“Are they watching the street door?” he questioned.
“You bet they are,” responded Sneaks. “They’ll bump off any guy that tries to come out. It wouldn’t be safe even for me to try it.”
“Where is Jake Dermott?”
“Up in the next street, at the Shanghai Restaurant,” answered Sneaks. “Waitin’ to hear from me. His gorillas are on the job.”
“Call him,” ordered Loy Rook, bringing a telephone from within a taboret.
While Sneaks was getting the number, Loy Rook informed him what to say.
“The street door will open,” explained the old Chinaman. “He and his men can come up to the second floor. Then each bookcase will open in turn. First they will be on the second floor; then the next stairway will be before them. They can come straight up. On the way, they will meet our enemy. He will be trapped between them and the barrier.”
Sneaks nodded. Jake was on the wire, now. The little gangster told him what to do. He did not mention that The Shadow was the enemy. He did not want Jake to have qualms. He knew that the new mob leader had a yellow streak.
“It’s easy, Jake,” insisted Sneaks. “We let the guy come in — that was all arranged—”
“The boys didn’t see any one go in,” answered Jake’s voice; “that is, any one but the guy that followed you.”