He found an opportunity to leave the gambling den, and went to the balcony. Steve Cronin had temporarily left his post.
Harry opened the envelope, and withdrew the letter. It was inscribed in a simple code, consisting of a few letter substitutions. Harry could read the letter instantly.
“Watch Genara and Anelmo,” said the note. “Report any move they may make.”
There was no signature. Simply a telephone number, which Harry immediately committed to memory.
The note came either from The Shadow, or from some unknown agent of that mysterious man. As Harry sat at a table on the balcony, inscribing the telephone number in his mind, he glanced once more at the note.
The writing had faded away completely. He now held a blank sheet of paper in his hand. That was the way with messages that had The Shadow as their source. They faded into nothingness as soon as they had been read, thanks to a secret preparation of disappearing ink.
Harry returned to the gambling room. Before he reached the door, he crumpled the note into a ball, and tossed it in the corner. No danger of any one reading it.
He kept the envelope in his pocket, intending to tear it up later. Yet it meant nothing, for it carried only his name.
But as the sliding panel closed behind the form of Harry Vincent, a man arose from an obscure corner of the balcony. It was Steve Cronin.
He had seen Harry read the letter. He was anxious to know what the note said. He picked up the crumpled ball of paper and studied it intently. When he observed that it was blank, his forehead wrinkled in a frown.