Groping for an explanation, Cleve thought that perhaps peace was to be declared between the Wu-Fan and the Tiger Tong.
But what was the use of such wasted speculation? The paper itself would tell the story.
There was one sure way to see it. That was to go to Joseph Darley’s. Cleve was acquainted with the apartment and its location. If he could find that paper, he might learn all.
What if Darley should return and discover him? What of it? In an emergency, Cleve could reveal his dual identity to Darley.
Yes; that was the solution! He would go to Darley’s and find the paper. Go there now. Acting responsively to his thought, Cleve moved sidewise from the curtain and strode cautiously to the door of the anteroom. He found the catch of the door and opened it.
As he had felt certain, the anteroom was empty. Foy had gone, as well as Joseph Darley.
Cleve descended in the elevator and breathed freely when he reached the street. The pageant had gone by now, and Cleve quietly joined the passing throng of pedestrians.
He reflected now on the safety of his position. As Hugo Barnes, he would not be suspected if any Wu-Fan men had seen him coming from the entrance to Ling Soo’s. For Cleve was a member of the Wu-Fan himself.
He could risk the visit to Darley’s — and be sure that in a pinch he could explain all to satisfaction.
In the fashion of Hugo Barnes, Cleve shuffled along the street, and cast a wary eye toward the Mukden Theater as he passed by. Only one factor had been omitted from his calculations until now. That factor was The Shadow.