There were three occupants of that apartment which he had just left; and of the three, the one whose shadow Cleve had seen, was the most mysterious.
Even more astounding and impressive than the parchment-faced Ling Soo and sinister Foy, was the living form that had appeared only as a shadow!
CHAPTER V
CLEVE WORKS ALONE
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS after his journey to the sanctum of Ling Soo, Cleve Branch paid another visit to Chinatown. This time he went alone. No one — not even Joseph Darley — knew of this trip.
Cleve smiled to himself as he wended his way through the bizarre streets of the Chinese quarter. He was thinking of Darley and of Ling Soo.
Perhaps the chairman of the Civilian Committee was right, in that Ling Soo’s organization was scarcely more than a fantastic idea. But Cleve was determined to learn if Darley was right.
The Bureau of Investigation, he reflected, was different from the Civilian Committee of San Francisco. The agents of the government must be thorough in their methods.
Here, in his pocket now, Cleve had a report given him by Darley at the office of the committee, that afternoon. The report covered all that Darley knew about the Wu-Fan.
Cleve had accepted the report with thanks. He had remarked upon its conciseness. When Darley had asked him his plans, Cleve had told him exactly what they were to be.