The boats were at the side. Men were rising from them. Looking upward through the gloom, they saw two green eyes staring down at them.
The members of the Wu-Fan clambered over the side. They crowded about Darley, asking in low voices that they might see the list.
They seemed awed and amazed to find Green Eyes here. But their surprise was to be greater. For as they walked toward the boxes that the coat-clad figure indicated, a peal of gibing laughter burst through the night.
It was the laugh of The Shadow!
Standing with Ling Soo’s revolver in his left hand, and Joseph Darley’s automatic in his right, The Shadow was backed against the pilot house, covering the crew and the members of the Wu-Fan.
He fired one shot in the air. This was not muffled, like the report in the closed cabin. It could be heard far — across the waters of the bay. It was a signal to all who might hear that something was amiss upon the yacht Sepia.
NO green eyes were sparkling now, from beneath the hat which The Shadow wore. The members of the Wu-Fan realized they were tricked. The crew of the yacht went wild with fury. With one accord, a dozen men precipitated themselves upon this lone figure that had come upon them.
Revolvers and knives were coming into view, but not a single weapon could avail. Quick, staccato shots rang out, but all came from The Shadow’s guns. Men were falling — some clutching at The Shadow’s feet. Others were groveling by the rail.
Only two escaped. At the rear of the attacking horde, these men, both members of the Wu-Fan, leaped to the rail and gained the motor boat that had brought them there. Hastily they set the motor in action. They were chugging away to safety.
But then The Shadow acted. His shots were used; but with a gun borrowed, unasked, from a victim, he stood by the rail and blazed into the night.