What next?
The paper! He must go back to it; take it away if necessary.
Cleve was turning toward the living room when he heard a sound outside the door. He slipped along the hall toward the kitchenette. He heard the clicking of a key in the lock, and gained his refuge just as a flood of light appeared in the hallway.
Peering from darkness, Cleve saw Joseph Darley enter and turn toward the living room. The light there must have attracted his attention, for Cleve had left the lamp burning.
Darley’s momentary departure served Cleve well. He slipped through the window of the kitchenette, and gained the fire escape, making very little noise as he went.
He traveled softly down the iron steps and reached the darkness at the bottom of the building. His mind was pondering dully as he made his way toward the street.
Why had The Shadow let Foy escape?
That was but one problem. More important was the matter of the paper which Cleve had been forced to leave neglected.
What was the import of its Chinese message?
The thought of that paper hovering before the glimmer of a tiny light made Cleve realize that another besides himself had viewed it!